The Night's Tale
by William R. Treaty
Summary: When Will finds himself in a foreign world, he must survive for a years time, until he meets a certain princess...  OC x Luna. Violence and character deaths. Some crossover stuff, but not vital for you to know anything about it, just suggested.
1. Chapter 1

_The__Night__'__s__Tale__, __Part__One__._

IBN4 GIANT WALL OF TEXT.

I do not own, nor will I own Lauren Faust's MLP; FiM. The character's used in this story is not for my profit. I do, however own Will.

Warning: Rated PG-13. Has some cartoon violence. Not for children's eyes. You have been warned.

The night sky was so calming, so brilliantly lit up by the stars and moon, that it was impossible not to gaze upon it's vast beauty and be unamazed. The moon reached it's peak with what felt like seconds of waiting. He star gazed until the early morning hours, leaving his roost to nap until late afternoon.

Ever since appearing in this foreign land, Will would waste every night gazing upon the infinite beauty of the universe and it's secrets. He was a young human with silvery blond hair and a athletic build, though he was reserved, and tended to shy away from others.

But that's now. Looking upon him a year ago would render different results.

When he first arrived, he was fat, lazy, and very social. Until he had to evolve to survive, he would have continued his life's path until he became absorbed into bad influences, like drugs and alcohol. But with a harsh life, and an iron will, he managed. But not without drawbacks.

He was lonely- very lonely. He hasn't seen a single person to date since his arrival, though he has ran into a few nasty encounters with strange, mythical creatures. Since then, he's constructed a few weapons to keep the more violent ones at bay. (Not going to say any names here, but Giant Spiders tend to bite. Hard.)

At his disposal he carried a Longbow made of Yew, with a tightly woven string made of sinew from the stomach of a Elk; a longsword made from Steel, the blade crafted from ores found near his home (with a furnace that tended to explode for no reason); a Quiver of Leather, made from the same Elk that provided him with his string, and a Dagger, from the same materials as his blade, though much sharper. These were always by his side, and when fully armed, he was an enemy to be reckoned with. In total, he could easily slaughter a platoon of some of the more nasty creatures if he was lucky.

But what he needed to work on the most was his home. He was currently living in a large tree, though most of it was hollowed out, he managed to add a few more rooms and a couple of windows with a few of his tools. The wood was very useful, though he ran out within days.

A basic description of the place would be rough, though strangely beautiful. It had five rooms; a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, his sleeping quarters, and his storage room. All of which were a bit small, but fulfilled their purposes. Cycling around the center, you could reach all of the rooms from the spiral staircase.

But there was another room. The last room. His favorite room.

The observatory.

You could reach the observatory by climbing to the very top of the rough stairs, finding the hidden latch and tugging it twice. You will then hear a click, and a faint scratch as a hidden staircase appears. This leads to coolest room within the house.

The roof of this room is nothing but leaves and branches, hanging oddly above the trunk, though allowing enough light to barely see a rope off to the side. Unleashing it lets the branches loose, revealing the sky in the process. Amazingly, when they are pulled back, the weather is locked out, keeping the top floor completely safe from rain, sleet, or snow. So the floor was usually littered with maps and papers of the area, notes and projects of what is to be done, keys and chests to various things, and most importantly, his lamp.

It was his only lamp, and the only one he has been able to successfully craft. It was a metal oil lamp, with glass to protect the flame from the wind and weather. It took him weeks to find suitable resources to craft the glass, but it was well worth it. It was a large improvement to the candles he had placed on the walls in the lower floors, because he was able to carry this around with him wherever he went, and it couldn't catch the leaves on fire either (though there was still candles up there for night time writing and reading, he made sure to never burn them near any leaves).

Next to his lamp was his most prized possession: his only book from his world, "_The__Art__of__Astronomy__," _by an unknown writer. He studied the 650 page textbook whenever he had nothing to do, learning about the ancient constellations (which were non-existent here) and of all the stars and their classification.

To him, it was a hobby. But that's what he only thought it was- it had grown into a way of life over time. With nothing to do, and nothing to read, it was drilled into his mind as his only drive to keep going. Without night, he would have eventually killed himself, ending this harsh life without another thought. And without his weapons, he would have died anyway. It's a die-die relationship, where Astronomy cures only half of it.

As he stood up and stretched, reaching for the rope to tie off the branches, when something caught his eye. It was something small, though flying very fast in the night sky. It stopped, before it began to grow larger.

Will panicked.

Reaching for his lantern, he fumbled with the door before blowing it out a second too late. Whatever spotted him was about to land inside of his sanctuary. Drawing his blade, he hid in a corner, heart thumping rapidly as he prepared himself to strike.

A second past, two. A clatter as something landed inside of his Observatory.

"Hello?" The unknown assailant said, looking around. Will jumped.

"Who goes there?"

A silence passed, and Will rekindled his lantern.

"It is I, Princess Luna, Goddess of the Night. Now, may I know to whom I am talking too?"

She slowly walked over to the lantern's blaze, making an odd walking noise as she did so. It was like she had four feet.

Will awkwardly stood up, sheathing his blade as he did so.

"Greetings, your majesty, I am Will..." He trailed off in silence as he witnessed who he was talking too. A beautiful blue Alicorn was gazing at him with cool, sad eyes. Her mane was glowing with the power of the stars, and on her hip was a crescent moon. She was beauty in every aspect, and power emanated from every pour of her body.

Will stuttered to continue talking. She tilted her head.

"Why are you way out here, in the middle of nowhere?"

_Thump__._

Will had fainted.

Eternity passed, and Will finally felt life reach into his mental grasp. He blinked open his eyes to find that he was in his small bed, a light breeze blowing through his window. Standing up, he found all of his equipment laid out on his bedside table. An alarm went on in his mind.

He never, _ever_sets his bow and arrows in his room. When he is about to go to sleep, he leaves them in his store room, because in the unlikely event that he was attacked, he wouldn't need them and they would just confuse him. Another alarm was that of smoke. And the smell of food cooking.

_Oh__, __great__, __a__dragon__found__my__store__room__and__he__'__s__cooking__my__cockatrice__eggs__._ He thought sleepily to himself as he stood up.

Another alarm. He was still fully clothed. His hood was still pulled over his head, too.

A third alarm. His lantern was located by his bedside.

_I__'__m__not__alone__._

He grabbed his equipment and quickly slid them into place. Stepping lightly, he advanced towards the stairs and into his kitchen. Peeking around the corner, his mind flashed back to last night.

The Alicorn was still here. He fainted when he met her. Apparently, she put him in his bed, then proceeded to make him breakfast?

Stepping into the room, she turned around and smiled, though a sad one.

"Are you okay?" She asked, coming closer. "You fainted, and I didn't want to leave you there in case if something attacked you."

"I- er... I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Oh... I was making us breakfast... I'll leave if you don't want me here..." She began to walk towards the staircase, head tilted down. Will stopped her.

"No no no no no, it's okay. You can stay, I don't mind. Really, it's okay." He gave a shy smile. She frowned.

"Well obviously, you don't want me here. You fainted at the sight of me," She walked past him, nearing the first step.

"That's not it at all! I just... never saw a talking pony before in my life!" He said, mentally crying over the thought of being alone again. She stopped.

"You... you've never seen a talking pony before? _Ever__?_" She asked, turning around to face him. He nodded.

"I've been here for a year, thinking I was completely alone. You're the only thing that hasn't tried to kill me."

She looked at him, confusion etching her face.

"Where are you from, Will?" She said, ears twitching.

"I was born in America... but one night, I appeared here as if by magic. I was sixteen when I arrived... in fact, I think today is my birthday." He sat down on his wooden table, eyes concentrated on Luna's gleaming hooves. They suddenly took a few steps forward.

"Happy birthday," She said, catching his eyes with her own. He smiled.

"Thank you, Luna," breaking eye contact, he glimpsed at the stove, which was now smoking.

"Oh no!" He dashed at the burning scrambled eggs, mixing them together quickly with the wooden spatula. But it was too late, they were ruined.

"I'm so sorry, I completely forgot!" Luna quickly apologized, her happy mood instantly replaced with her depressed one.

"It's okay, I always burn mine in the mornings, too. I'm not an early bird. Here, sit down, I'll fix us both something delicious, okay? Then you can tell me more about you," Scraping the burnt eggs into the sink, he ran up the stairs to his store room, grabbing another batch of eggs and some wild fruit and vegetables. Grabbing more wood for the fire, he also decided to also make a fresh loaf of bread for his guest. It was a really rare treat, considering he had to grow it himself in a swampy terrain. Putting away his bow and arrows, he carefully brought down the supplies to the kitchen.

Luna was now seated at the table, keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact. He stopped.

"What's wrong?" He said, barely managing to hold an apple that tipped precariously on the edge of his elbow. Setting it down, he pulled up a chair.

"N-nothing... I just don't feel well..."

"Oh really? Tell me your symptoms, I may be able to cure you. I've been studying apothecary since I was bitten by a rather poisonous spider..."

"Do you have anything for... depression?" She said, looking awkwardly into his gaze.

"Wait... what? Why are you depressed? If I was a prince, or in your case, a princess, I would be ecstatic!"

"I'm the princess of nothing. Nobody loves me, I'm just there to raise the moon," She sniffed. A tear began to form at the edge of her eye.

"You... you're the one who's been creating these beautiful nights?" Will said, eyes filling with admiration. He was willing to believe just about anything now.

"You... like my nights?"

"Like? I LOVE your nights! Here, follow me!" Will motioned with his hand, before running up the stairs. He was followed quickly by a confused Luna.

Opening the secret staircase, which Luna closed last night, he pulled her into the Observatory.

"Do you know what I call this room?"

"No."

"I call it, 'the Observatory'," He picked up a few charts and drawings of the night sky. "See?"

Luna drew them towards herself with her magic. Staring at them, Will grabbed his only copy of _The__Art__of__Astronomy_ and passed it to her.

She sobbed. Then cried.

"W-what's wrong now? Did I offend you?"

"No! Not at all, these aren't tears of sadness; these are tears of joy!"

Now Will was really confused.

"What..."

She suddenly pulled him into a deep, passionate hug. Will didn't know what to do besides hug back.

"Why can't more ponies be like you? So intelligent... so appreciative of real art!"

"What... what do you mean?"

"I mean, why can't everyone love the night like you?" She stopped for a second. "You DO like the night more then the day, right?"

"Well, yes, but I don't see-"

He was cut off by another hug.

"My whole life... nobody has even glimpsed at the night for more then a couple of seconds... but you... you actually enjoy it..." She let go of him, showing Will a true, meaningful smile. The utter joy radiating off of her was enough to light Will's home ablaze.

"I didn't know it meant that much to you, Luna. Maybe you could stay with me tonight and watch the stars with me?" Will said, giving a hoping smile.

There was no delay in her reply.

"YES! Of course I'll stay!" She hugged him again, even tighter then before.

"Okay... you're choking me now... you... can... let..." Will was starting to go blue in the face.

"Oh! Sorry..."

Breakfast was quickly over, and Will began with his daily chores, talking with Luna the whole time.

"Did you know, that without the moon, there would be no tide?" He said, fixing the irrigation to his wheat crops.

"I... I didn't even know that, and I control the moon." She looked impressed.

"Yeah, the moon's gravity keeps it in motion." Digging his shovel in deeper, he grunted as he hit a large rock.

No, not a rock, a jewel encrusted rock. Luna didn't notice as she looked around the area, examining the trees. He quickly stuck it in his bag.

"Hey... do you know anything about the sun?"

"Yeah. It's a giant, swirling ball of burning gas millions of miles away. It's so far away, that it takes light a few minutes to actually reach us from it. At least, that's how it is in our world. I don't know about here." Finally fixing the water ways, he stuck the shovel in the ground.

"What else? Like, in your world..."

"Well, for one, the Earth rotates around it, spinning to change from night to day. It's also existed for millions of years, and still has billions of years left to go before it dies. Also, it provides both day AND night, because the rays off of it hit the moon, lighting it up for us too see. That also causes the moon cycle."

"That's odd. Who controls it, then? Who runs your world?"

"Well... nobody. It does this naturally. On my world, there are no world leaders. Just one for every independent nation, mainly because we can't agree with each other. And sometimes, this starts a war, killing hundreds of innocent people..."

"That... that's terrible!" She said, shocked.

"Yeah, I know... Everyone pretty much hates each other there. And all of the diseases, the famines, the crime... it's way better out here. That, and pollution. It kills everything- the plants, the wildlife... and it's starting to kill other people, too." He sat down, examining his work carefully.

"It sounds like chaos to me."

"It is. And nobody is there to bring peace."

"What about the Elements of Harmony? Do they exist on your world?" She said, recalling a conversation from earlier concerning them.

"Ha, that's a joke..."

"Well, at least you're not their anymore, huh?" She said, nuzzling him gently on the cheek. He smiled.

"Yeah... I'd much rather be here, with you, Luna..." He nuzzled back, just gently. She smiled, a deep, happy smile.

She sat down next to him and examined the small garden. It had a variety of fruit and vegetables, but was missing one thing that was at breakfast- apples.

"Hey... where did you get the apples for breakfast, Will?"

"There's an apple orchard about one mile into the woods. Only around five trees, though, so I have to be careful not to pick too many."

"Where?"

"Right over there-" He pointed to the left, and saw something move in the shadows.

A Manticore. But not just any Manticore- one he's had a bitter 'relationship' with since he got here.

He quickly grabbed his bow, but was a little slow. The Manticore sprang from his hiding place, cover blown, and slashed at Will. Barely rolling away from the attack, he shouted a warning to Luna.

"Fly! Quick!"

She took one quick look at the Manticore's giant fangs, Will readying an arrow, then nodded before springing into the air.

Will took aim and fired, almost hitting the Manticore's heart, but the arrow was knocked aside by it's tail. It snarled and sprang, aiming a few swipes at Will's face. Will withdrew from the attack, but was hit by a sideswipe of it's tail. Will stumbled, but dodged the come-around with the stinger. Throwing away his bow, he drew his blade, gleaming defiantly in the evening sun.

"Come on then!" Will yelled, drawing his blade off to the side. The Manticore didn't move. At all. He didn't even breath. His eyes were twitching wildly, zooming around, confused.

"What the...?"

"You know, for a second, I forgot I could use magic." Luna said, landing next to him.

"Um... Luna..."

"What?"

"This is a personal kind of thing, between me and him..."

"Oh! I didn't know..." She looked at the frozen Manticore. "Sorry," She flew away again, and the Manticore unfroze, relaxing a bit.

Will readied his sword again. The Manticore growled, springing, intending to land fully on Will's shoulders. Catching him on guard, Will relaxed, forcing the Manticore to drag both his AND Will's weight across the ground. Luna inhaled deeply, but stopped herself from screaming as she saw Will do it on purpose.

Will, a bit dazed though unharmed, punched the Manticore in the face. And not in the comical sense, either. He punched him so hard, his jaw was knocked out of socket. Not the Manticore's, Will's. That hard. The Manticore was much worse.

Much, much worse.

Let's just say that he was mentally and physically scarred for the rest of his life.

Luna landed beside Will as he popped his into place.

"Luna?" He said, testing his jaw a bit.

"Yes?"

"Did you help with that punch?"

"Maybe a little..."

As the day drew to a close, Will retired to his room, trusting Luna to cook for them both after she finally convinced him that she wanted to do it.

"_Why__do__you__want__to__cook__? __You__'__re__the__guest__. __And__a__Princess__. __Why__?"_

"_Well__... __because__I__never__really__get__to__cook__, __and__it__'__s__kinda__like__a__hobby__to__me__. __That__, __and__if__you__tried__my__personal__chef__'__s__meals__, __you__'__d__want__to__start__a__hobby__in__cooking__, __too__."_

After relaxing for ten minutes, enjoying a new breeze that rolled through the window, he decided to see if he could help Luna in anyway, and maybe get to know her better. Walking down the stairs, he found himself in a peculiar position.

Luna was trying to balance around six different parts of the meal at once, and failing miserably. He flinched as a potato flew by his head.

"Need some help?"

"YES!" She dropped another pot, bending it slightly. After a swarm of 'I'm sorry' and much cleaning, the kitchen was back in working order again. Luna was taking care of the salad, while he was watching over the pot of boiling (and slightly burnt) potato soup. Checking on another loaf of baking bread, he quickly realized that he was running out of supplies. Soon, there would be no wheat for winter, and that would be a bad thing.

But he was okay with this, as long as he had some company.

"So, Luna, what brings you way out here, anyway?"

Luna went from quite happy, to a little depressed.

"It's my sister, really... I just can't take being around her for so long. So, I left for a while. I was going to stay at the ruins of our old castle, but I couldn't sleep. So, I decided to fly around for a bit, to calm my nerves. Then I found you, a star who fell from the sky and landed here, in the middle of Everfree Forest."

"I'm a what?" Will said, eyebrow raised.

"Oh... er... nothing," She blushed, quickly returning to the salad with her magic.

"So... I take it there isn't many ponies who like the night like I do, huh?"

Another moment of silence.

"No. I haven't met a single one yet." She sighed.

"That's... terrible..." He said. He felt his spirits hit rock bottom.

"Well, you still have me, and you'll always have me, if that counts." He said, smiling. She smiled back.

"Thank the heavens I have you," She said under her breath.

The meal was wonderful, a luxurious salad made with every vegetable you could imagine next to a large pot of steaming potato soup, filled with many herbs and cheeses (you don't want to know how Will obtained that), by garlic bread. They even had a little wine- though it was only around six months old. And it tasted like rotten grapes, but it was still wine never the less.

Will scrubbed the plates off in the wooden sink, pouring some hot water over them and scrubbing them with homemade soap before laying them out to dry. Scrambling up the stairs to the observatory, he met Luna as she started the process of raising the moon.

Using her magic, the glow spread throughout the Observatory as it began to rise from behind the horizon. Will stood in aw as it finally began to ascend through the night sky. It was much larger then the night before, before he realized that she must have brought it closer.

"Luna, it's so... beautiful," He said, stepping forward, eyes wide. She smiled, standing by his side. After a while, they both sat down to stargaze. Will took out a sketch pad and began to map constellations. Every once in a while, he would ask Luna to help him name one of them, or to help him make something of it. After a while, he gave up and just sat, staring straight through the cloudless night.

"How do you do it, Luna? How do you create such gems?" Will asked, turning over to look at her, when he realized that she was asleep. She must have been awake for two days. He walked down to his bedroom, grabbing his blanket and pillow for Luna. Sliding it gently underneath her head, he covered her with his blanket and closed the roof. (He knew it was going to drizzle in the morning, because there was no dew on the grass this morning.) Blowing out a few candles, he considered leaving Luna as she lay, or waking her up to sleep on the couch.

Having a better idea, he grabbed his thin mattress and quietly shuffled it upstairs. Laying it next to Luna, he picked her up as gently as he could and set her down in a more comfortable position. Yawning, he walked down to the living room, took off his equipment and dozed off on the couch.

A sudden bang at his front door alerted Will. Standing up, he quickly drew his blade in his right hand and the dagger in the left. Another bang, and the door collapsed.

"She's somewhere in here, find her!" A white pony said, wearing golden armor and checking some device around his neck. Two more of the similar ponies charged into the building, saw Will, and knocked him down. Disarming him, their leader came into sight-

A white mare wearing a small golden tiara cantered in, her head held high. She saw Will and walked calmly over to him.

"Where is she? What did you do to her?" She said, looking down upon him with pure malice. He flinched as her horn came to life with more power then he could ever imagine.

"W-who?"

"LUNA!" The whole house shook. A thumping could be heard upstairs, a door opening, and hooves on wood followed. Luna jumped between Will and Celestia.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She said, taking a defensive position.

"Luna, you're alright... we thought that you-"

"Shut up! What are you doing here?"

"We came to find you, er-... well, your corpse," Celestia said, suddenly aware of how awkward this was.

"Wait... what? What do you mean by a corpse?" Will said, the guards letting him stand, though keeping hooves on his weapons.

Celestia looked at Will with mild interest, then pulled a scroll from what appeared to be nowhere, handing it to Will.

_Dear__Princess__Celestia__, __and__those__it__may__concern__,_

_I__can__'__t__do__this__any__longer__. __I__cannot__handle__another__day__of__constant__mental__torment__- __it__has__come__. __My__time__to__die__is__tonight__. __If__you__want__to__bury__me__, __you__can__find__my__body__at__our__old__castle__._

_I__hope__you__'__re__happy__, __sis__._

_Princess__Luna__._

Will stood stock still for a minute, processing the words over and over again.

"What does this mean, Luna?" Will said, gripping it tighter.

Luna looked between Celestia and Will, the guards and the letter. Backing up slightly, she stammered in her speech.

"I-er...uh...well..." She turned around and bolted up the stairs, slamming the hidden entrance to the Observatory behind her. Will dropped the Suicide Letter and ran after her, calling for her to wait.

He opened the door, but it was too late. She was gone.

"Quick, guards, to the old castle! I must talk with this human," A 'yes ma'am' followed, and the guards left, leaving the broken door in as it lay. Celestia fixed it before walking calmly up the stairs, through the not so secret door way, then next to Will's side.

"What's your name, human." She said, looking down at him.

"Will."

"Okay then, Will. I need you to do something for me," Will looked into her eyes and gave her his full attention.

"I know she isn't going to the old castle, but I don't know where she is really going. Maybe there is someplace that I don't know about that you can show me?" Celestia said, giving him a small smile in return.

Will thought for a second, before standing up.

"Actually... there is one place, though I've only told her about it. I don't think she really knows the exact location yet."

"Then it will have to do. Here, climb on."

_Wait__, __what__? __Did__a__ruler__of__an__entire__world__just__asked__me__to__ride__her__somewhere__?_

…

_Yes__, __she__did__._

Will clambered onto Celestia's back, then directed her towards his garden, then the Apple Orchard- the only place that she could be besides the castle.

Landing lightly, Will jumped off.

"Luna! Luna!" He yelled, searching the area for her. A sudden silence, then a single, slight sob coming from behind a tree.

"Luna!" He said, finding her curled up crying behind the tree. "What's wrong?"

"What do you think is wrong! I'm what's wrong! My secret has been revealed, and now you'll never love my nights! My life is over, there's nothing left! I'm just a shadow- no, a speck compared to Celestia! Everyone loves her days, but nopony loves my nights! And I know you don't, not anymore, you can't lie to me! You think I'm stupid now, a freak, a pony who has no control! You'll never enjoy them again because of me, and it's all my fault..." She coughed blood, then continued to cry.

"And you'll never love me, so I must end it all... I can't go on like this!" More blood, and her crying slowed down a bit into bloody sobs.

"Whoa, what is happening to her?" Celestia said as she came around the tree, seeing the blood on the ground. Quickly looking around, Will saw leaves missing from a nearby plant...

"She's eaten Hell-thorn. And from the look of it, a lot."

"Hell-thorn?"

"It's like swallowing a bunch of thorns straight from hell. It rips your throat apart... I don't know the cure. The first time I tried it, I nearly died, and I only ate one leaf..."

"This isn't good... Not at all..." Celestia said, for the first time since meeting her she actually looked worried. "Is there anything we can do to at least reverse some of the effects?"

"Honey is great for soothing throats, but you can't take any liquids or solids after you've taken some of the leaves..." Will stopped short.

"Celestia, how powerful are you?" Will said, looking to her with hope.

"I don't think magic can cure this, Will."

"Not when you think like that. I think I know how to stop it." Luna coughed more blood, splattering some on her hooves. She was a truly despicable sight.

"I can raise the sun."

"...oh, yeah. Well, focus on her throat. Can you feel it?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes. Can you also dissect through it magically?"

"..." She was giving him the dull, 'yes I can, you stupid little boy look'.

"Well, from my experience from taking this plant, it feels like little barbs are stuck in your throat, damaging it with every motion. These little hooks must be in the flesh, so maybe you could use magic to pull them out?"

"...That actually might work." She stepped closer to Luna, who had collapsed on the ground in pain. Touching her horn to her throat, she moved it around a bit before stepping back and forcing her hooves apart in concentration.

Luna stopped gagging, but started to cough, spraying blood like a fine mist. A small ball of red and brown zoomed out of her mouth, before being set on fire and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Will stepped forward to the now unconscious Luna, checking her temperature and pulse.

"I think she caught something from the leaves... she may be sick. There's a few cures for this illness, but luckily, I have them back at the shelter. Come on, we need to bring her back." Picking Luna up (who was quite heavy when you have to lift her above your head), Will set her on Celestia's back. Checking to make sure she was secure, Will waved Celestia ahead of him.

"Climb on, I'm pretty sure I can carry you both," Celestia said, motioning with her horn.

"No, I would only slow you down. When you get back to the shelter, in the storage room, there is some Yarrow leaves- they are yellow and a bit sharp. Crush them and stick them into a vial with water. Shake it until it's yellow, then put it in a pot of boiling water. I need to gather some honey before we can administer the cure.

"Yarrow? Isn't that poisonous in it's own right?"

"Yes, but it will force her to remove the toxin in her stomach. But you mustn't give it to her before I arrive- it could spread the infection." Celestia nodded, and took off.

Will popped his fingers and set off to find a meadow. If he was lucky, he could find a beehive willing to give him the honey.

Celestia arrived at the hut within minutes, and setting Luna down in the living room, she cantered up the steps to gather the Yarrow. Grabbing a vial and a few leaves, she began to mix the polijuice into the vial. Corking it tightly, she started a pot of boiling water and sat down to wait beside Luna.

Although she stirred quite a bit, she didn't wake. Minutes passed. Hours.

Where was Will?

Struggling to avoid the angry Manticore, who had recovered from yesterday's battle, Will quickly scaled a nearby tree. The Manticore stood ground below.

It growled, considering whether to jump at Will or not.

_Now__is__my__chance__._

Will drew his dagger and dove from the tree, landing blade first on a very confused Manticore. It stumbled before realizing what had happened.

Will had stabbed him in the back. He was bleeding heavily. His enemy was preparing to strike again.

And so, he ran away to tend to his wounds, promising revenge.

Will sighed, trying to calm his jittery nerves. But he wasn't unwounded- he received a nasty sting from the Manticore's tail. It was swelling, and pus was squirting out of it, but he was fine besides that. Gripping his wound tightly, he squeezed, screaming in pain as an ivory liquid oozed from his wound. He was poisoned alright.

Today was not his day.

Searching around desperately, he found a source of Kingsfoil nearby. He chewed the leaves and forced them into his wound- crying from the pain. But it was the only thing he could do to stop himself from collapsing.

He took out his dagger again, cleaning it off and cutting a vein near his armpit. More of the liquid shot out, covering his shirt with it's color.

The poison had reached his heart, and would now spread throughout his body. If he couldn't find a cure soon, he would die- which meant that if Celestia couldn't find something to protect Luna's throat, she would die too.

All of this because of a note left on a desk.

Standing up, he searched the area around him. He was in a meadow now, but he couldn't see any hives...

Until he realized that the tree he was in _was_ a hive. A few bees buzzed in and out of the trunk, although a little quietly. He stepped closer.

"Hello little guys," he said to the bees, who were building a new section of hive. Some stopped and looked at him. These bees, unlike the ones on his home world, could understand English, though they couldn't speak it (c'mon, you really think a bee could speak without a mouth?).

"I was wondering if you could spare some honey, someone may die if you don't, and I'm trying to prevent that." More bees crowded around the entrance, listening intently. One started to dance to the others. Then more joined. Soon, they stopped and six flew into the back of the hive, returning with a large queen.

"Hello, your majesty. You see, one of my friends, Princess Luna, had swallowed a very volatile type of plant, which destroys your throat until you can't eat or drink, and also leaves a toxin in the stomach. I have the cure for the toxin- but I can't give it to her until I treat her throat with honey. Can I please borrow some?" His eye twitched as he smiled, and he gripped his left arm tighter. The queen noticed this.

After a moment, she looked between her cohorts, and a large part of the group flew off, returning with a fallen section of honeycomb. It was small, but it would suit his purpose.

"Thank you, I am in your debt." He accepted the honeycomb with a bow, catching it with a cloth in his left hand. Barely maintaining a scream, he ran off towards his home.

The door fell down again, and Will entered. Luna awoke when it slammed on the ground, coughing again as he approached.

"Eat this," he said, holding the honeycomb out in front of him. She looked into his now pale face and started to chew it as well as she could. Celestia pulled the potion out of the cauldron handing it to Will. He didn't feel it scorch his hand.

"Now drink this, too. I'll get a bucket," he left the potion for Luna to consume, who didn't hesitate in her actions. Drinking the vile potion, she began to gag again. Will returned with the bucket as she vomited on the floor.

"Great," He left it in front of her as he returned to the store room to apply more Kingsfoil to his wound.

After a while, he returned with a mop and another bucket. Cleaning up the mess, he tossed the water out and settled down into his chair. Celestia had left when the process had began twelve minutes ago, and it appeared that the infection was gone. She passed out again as Will took both buckets to be washed and cleaned. Another hour passed, and she awoke, though with a sore throat.

"How are you doing... Luna?" Will asked, between his hard breaths. Luna coughed, but stood up.

"I'm fine now, thanks to you..." She looked around. "Where's Celestia?"

"I think she left to obtain a carriage to pull you back to your home..." Sweating, his health took another dive as the skin around his cut started to burn away from the acidic poison.

"Are... are you alright? You don't look so good, Will..." Luna said, approaching him in the darkened room. As she got closer, she could finally make out his complexion better.

"What happened?" She said, now uncomfortably close. She was tearing up again.

"Manticore... attacked... while I was getting honey..." Will fell onto his side, pus, blood, and poison bleeding onto the cloth covering the wood and wool couch.

"You'll... you'll be fine, I know it! C'mon, get up, he couldn't have hit you that bad..." She saw his arm and realized it was poison. "...We can get you to the castle! We can find the cure... we could... we could..." She stopped. Crying heavily, she looked deep into his scared eyes.

"No... you can't die, Will! You can't! I wont let you die!"

"But... I don't know... the cure... and neither do you..."

"Celestia will know it! C'mon... get on my back..."

"But Luna, you're in no shape... to fly," He remained on the couch, his breathing becoming more labored by the moment.

"I don't care! Get on, now!" She used her magic to lift him onto her back. The effort on him just to be moved was enough to make him unconscious. Searching around, Luna found some rope and tied him down.

"Please don't die... please..." She ran out the remains of the front door, taking to the air with struggled breaths.

"Don't die, Will... don't die..."

In what felt like eternity, they arrived back at the castle. Will was even worse- his labored breaths were now almost non-existent. Even with magic, Luna could barely detect a heartbeat. He had less then a few minutes left.

"Help! Help!" Luna yelled, but doctors were already on the scene- Celestia arrived ahead, and told them they might expect two badly injured guests.

Luna stumbled into the building, relinquishing the rope tied around her waist, allowing the doctors to pull Will down and begin to apply a variety of medicines to his wounds. Luna was led away (much to her displeasure) to another room, to be examined more fully.

After an hour of treatment, she was allowed to visit Will as he lay on his deathbed. They arrived too late to save him- only to delay his death for a short time. But she didn't give up hope, clinging to the belief that he might make it.

When she entered the room, he was awake, though very pale. He was grasping something in his right hand, clinging to it with dear life. A uncertain thought clung to his mind...

"...Luna?" He said, looking towards her with desperate eyes. Realizing it was her, he relaxed a bit, though he was still edgy.

"I'm right here, Will... everything is going to be fine..."

"No, it's not going to be fine. I'm dying. I know I am. I overheard the doctors." He appeared angry, depressed even. "I want you to have this- it's very important to me. I was going to make something out of it for you, but I didn't have the time..."

He handed her the jewel encrusted rock he found a day ago.

"But I want you to promise me something: You will _not_ alter it. And you _will_ place it on my body before they bury me, okay? Right on my heart." He pointed to his chest, then back to her. "Okay?"

Will breathed heavily, then looked back at the night sky. "One more thing. Don't let them alter my body, either. Just make me look clean before they put me into the ground, and nothing else."

"I... I understand." She took the rock as Will's eyes went dull.

He died upon the transfer.

They held the funeral the next day. Since they weren't allowed to embalm him, they had to have it as soon as possible. His wishes were followed to the letter- he was wearing a tuxedo tailored for a human, with his sword placed beneath his heart, hands grasping it's hilt. Celestia and her student were the only ones in attendance besides Luna and a few guards; the same ones who knocked him down in his own home. Celestia stepped forward and began the ceremony.

"And now we lay a brave one down to rest the eternal slumber, and may he be guided to the heavens with the wings of a Pegasus, the power of a Unicorn, and the spirit of an Earth pony..." Celestia continued, though Luna wasn't listening. She was silently crying, reflecting upon the few days she spent with him. The only living creature who actually enjoyed her nights. Celestia stopped to give moment of silence.

"And now, we must grant his final wish-" Celestia looked to Luna with sad eyes, stepping away from the coffin. Stepping slowly, she took the rock in her mouth. She set it down lightly, looking upon his face. He actually looked like he was sleeping.

No, he really did look like he was sleeping. Luna stepped closer, and peered at his chest.

It was moving.

Suddenly, the rock started to move on it's own accord- exploding into small pieces, causing Luna to step back.

A pure white light was floating in it's place, swirling around like a tornado. It hovered for a second, before slowly descending into Will's chest with what sounded like a distant explosion.

Color flooded Will's face as he inhaled deeply. Sitting up straight, he looked around frantically.

"Luna?" He said, finding her on the ground, away from his coffin.

"You did it, Luna!" He said, jumping away from his 'eternal resting place'. Hugging her, the shock was finally over.

"Will... you're... you're ALIVE?" Luna looked appalled. "You... you..."

"YOU BIG JERK!" She screamed, shoving him off of her. Confused, he fell onto his back.

"YOU HAD ME WORRIED FOR NO REASON! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! DEAD, YOU HEAR ME? AND YOU JUST STAND UP, AND EXPECT EVERYTHING TO BE ALRIGHT?"

Will, as shocked as she was when he stood up after being dead for a whole day, began to get back up.

"Luna, I'm sorry I put you through all of that, but it was necessary-"

"NECESSARY?" She yelled, even louder. The guards had to cover their ears. "NECESSARY FOR WHAT? THIS?" She tackled him into a big hug, crying even harder then before.

"Why didn't you tell me that you created a horcrux?" Luna cried, hugging him harder.

"It wasn't a horcrux. It was a Spirit Stone, it's much different. What I did was very risky- I left my body and entered the rock, allowing it to heal on it's own. I was with you the entire time. If it didn't finish healing, or if it actually died, I would be stuck in that rock forever, until somebody found me. But it's okay now- I'm alive. And I'm with you, Luna..." He took a risky move, and kissed her on the cheek.

She didn't want to be kissed on the cheek. Not at all. She wanted it on the _lips__._ And moved to do so.

Nor did Will stop her. It was a light kiss, for the public's sake (yes, five other ponies were watching, remember?), but it was a kiss all the same. Celestia ushered the group off, including a slightly twitching guard who couldn't render what he was seeing. She returned after they broke the kiss, a little upset, but still happy for them.

"So, instead of a funeral, we're having a wedding now?" She said, joking aloud. Luna and Will both blushed.

"...wait, you both are serious?"

After a resounding "NO!" from both of them, and a couple of "NOT YET"s from Will, Celestia eventually quit teasing them.

"But how did you make a Spirit Stone, Will?" Luna asked as they were returning to the castle.

"I don't know, actually... I was just hoping that it didn't have to end like that..."  
>"I played a part in that, Luna," Celestia said, whispering in her ear. "I saw what you two had going, and I didn't want you to run off and try to hurt yourself again. So, I planted the thought in his head and enchanted the stone to do just that."<p>

Luna gave a surprised look, but didn't tell Will. Might as well make him think he's special.

That night they had a large feast in Will's honor, inviting hundreds of ponies to attend. All in all, around three hundred ponies showed up, including the one that was at his funeral (he later learned her name was Twilight Sparkle or something). They had a dance before the meal, which Luna and Will were the first on the floor, followed by a few courageous ponies, until everyone was dancing. The beat was slow, allowing for Will to learn how to dance with a pony formally.

"Okay, right hoof- I mean _hand_ on my shoulder... yes, like that..." Luna instructed him as they went along, until he got the basics.

It ended when the chef declared the feast, and everyone was gathered into the main hall.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlecolts! Tonight, we celebrate Will, who saved Luna's life! Honor him, and show him respect. Now, without further ado, let the feast begin!" With the short speech followed much clapping- er, clopping, followed by the sound of plates being set down by waiters and waitresses.

The food was strictly vegetarian, with fruits and vegetables, and cakes and pies, and a bunch of apples. Everyone enjoyed the meal, and after a while, the original dancers returned to the floor to party for the rest of the night.

"You know, for a formal occasion, everyone is acting... pretty casual." Will asked Twilight, who was sitting right next to him.

"Well, that's because this isn't a formal occasion. It's more of a casual celebration. Everypony is allowed to dress as they please, and act however they want too. We don't want another Grand Galloping Gallah..."

"Grand Galloping Gallah?"

"Yes, one of the most boring 'parties' ever. Trust me, I was there last time..."  
>"I didn't even attend the last Gallah," Luna chipped in, over hearing the conversation, "Last Gallah I visited, I slept through half of it." Will and Twilight laughed, and Luna eventually gave in and laughed too. The band started another tune- a more complex dancing one.<p>

"Would you like to dance (again) Luna?" Will asked, smiling.

"Sure! Oh, wait... I have an announcement to make, I'll be right back." Galloping over to the podium, she garnered every pony's attention with her appearance.

"Greetings everypony! A few days ago, I stumbled upon Will's home in Everfree Forest. And on that day, he told me that it was his birthday! He's been living alone for the last year, unaware that talking ponies even _existed_ until a few days ago. And right now, he's seventeen years old! Give him a round of applause, everypony!"

More cla- clopping started, and the whole room was swept up in the sound. Eventually, a pink pony with frizzy hair chipped up and started to sing Happy Birthday to Will. Others joined in, and soon, it was echoing throughout the whole castle.

"Happy Birthday too you, happy birthday too you, happy birthday dear Will, happy birthday too you!"

Smiling broadly, though keeping his head low, he let the song sweep over him. The chef, having heard about Will's birthday, quickly withdrew the final celebratory cake. Working with icing, he inscribed "Happy Seventeenth Birthday Will!" on the top, as if he knew all along, before shoving it back out the door. The same pink pony was the first to reach the cake, and the last to leave.

"You know, I don't understand why you left like that when they told me about the note." Will said. It was now late at night, after most of the other guests left for home. They were upon the balcony in Luna's room to avoid the stranglers who were roaming the halls.

"I was upset. When I'm upset, I tend to overreact."

"Who doesn't overreact when they are upset?" Will said, smiling.

For a moment, there was a long silence between the two. Luna leaned her head onto Will's shoulder, enjoying the night air. Soon, they both dozed off as the sun began to rise.

A very bad idea when you're on a balcony hanging over the side of a mountain. After a few brushes with death, they were forced to return inside to sleep.

Will was given a guest chamber to use until he made a decision on what he wanted to do. The maids were surprised to find his bedsheets untouched.

"You know, Luna, Will," Celestia said as they arrived at the Dining Hall at three PM, Luna's eye twitched when she heard her sister call her 'Luna'. "It's very unhealthy for one to stay up late." She laughed, enjoying her tea while signing documents. "...much less two."

"Oh, be quiet Celestia, and drink your tea," Luna said, blushing.

"Oh, Will, I've been meaning to talk to you," Celestia said after a moments silence, "in private, if you will, Luna."

Luna nodded, eyes twitching again, then went away to the other side of the hall. Celestia continued reading her paper, as though Will wasn't there.

"I'm watching you, Will. I hope you know that."

"Um... why?"

Celestia finally put her paper down with more force then necessary.

"What I think you and Luna are doing is immoral."

"Wait... what are we doing?"

"Don't act like I don't know. How old do you think I am? Seven?" Her eyes felt like hot irons, piercing straight into his soul. But he didn't flinch.

"Well Celestia, what you're thinking is wrong. Very wrong. You have a filthy mind."

She sneered, unamused by his antics.

"Do you know how old she is, boy?"

"Well, from what I've heard... I'd place her in her early twenties."

"She's one thousand and eighteen years old."

Will visibly flinched. It was like she swung at him with her words.

"She... she's that old?" He was suddenly disgusted, as if Celestia revealed that Luna bathes in blood. Any feelings for her were brushed away in an instant.

"She's the same age as me, though she's a bit inexperienced. You're way out of your league here. It's best if you just leave, and don't come back. What will you say when she wakes up to find that her boy friend needs a cane, huh?"

Will tilted his head downwards.

"Now go, I'm through with you. I don't like you. All of you humans are the same- you take something for granted, then destroy it as you leave." She suddenly turned back to her paper, sipping her tea as if nothing happened. Luna eventually came back, leading Will away from Celestia's side of the table.

"What did she tell you?" She asked, walking slightly ahead, directing him somewhere.

"Oh... nothing... nothing at all..."

"Well come on, I want to show you something." Leading him through the front gates, she brought him to the garden. Any animals they encountered ran away from the odd couple.

"Isn't this place beautiful?" Luna said, examining everything in her sights.

"Yeah... beautiful..."

Luna stopped.

"What's wrong, Will? Did I say something?"

"No... not you."

"Then what?"

Will looked into her eyes.

"How old are you?"

"What?"

"How old are you, Luna?"

"I'm eighteen years old, why?"

_And__now__she__'__s__lying__too__me__._

"No you're not."

"Yes I am, Will."

"No, you're a thousand years old. You can't lie to me." Will turned around, ignoring her. He started to walk away.

"Who told you that? I'm not that old!" Luna smashed her front hooves into the ground.

"Quit lying, Luna. It's over. There's nothing between us. You're immortal."

"Will... you... you don't mean that." Luna said. Her voice cracked for an instant.

"It's over. We can't be together. I'm doing this for your own good."

"No... Will... please..." She was now crying, tears streaking down her cheeks without resistance. "It can't be over... not now..."

"I'm going home. Don't follow me."

"Will! No! Don't leave me!" She fell down on the floor, crying harder then when he was dying. He was crying too.

"I see you made the right decision," Celestia said as Will left the gardens. "I'll have a few guards escort you home."

"There's no need... I'll walk..."

"But I insist. I already have the carriage drawn for you," She motioned towards a golden chariot, with four Pegasui leading the front.

"I would rather walk, it would help me calm down a bit..."

"No, but I _insist__._" A sharp thump was heard, and Will hit the floor. Celestia had knocked him out with a log on the ground, tossed by magic. Tying him up quickly, he made sure Luna would not see what she was about to do.

"Drop him, boys. Make sure I'll never see him again. And give him that _history_ lesson I taught you."

Will awoke to a cool splash of water on his face. Shaking his head, he regained his vision.

"What the-?"

"Shut it, human," A broad shouldered guard said, throwing away the bucket.

"Where... where am I?"

"You're about to be dropped into the ocean to drown, that's where," The guard came closer to Will's face, intimidating him. "But I thought you might like to know why, first."

Will tried to move his arms, but to know avail. He was tied securely.

"You see, we sometimes get humans here in Equestria. And each time they appear, they bring waves of death and destruction. And so, Celestia usually has them killed whenever we find them. But you're different. You were found by somepony else- Luna. You just had to make her fall in love with you, didn't you, human?" He growled menacingly.

"It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

"Too late for that! And to think, her first year here after being sealed away for a thousand years, too! You know, she didn't even age in there..." He paced the shoreline.

"You wanna know why Celestia kept you alive, human?"

"Do I want to know?"

"SHUT IT! We're asking the questions here. The only reason why she kept you alive was to make sure Luna didn't go and kill herself. She cares for her sister- she truly does. BUT YOU! Ha! Don't make me laugh..." He stooped down again.

"If we let you die, then she would have died in return. Without the moon, our ecosystems would become unbalanced, and over time, millions would die from it."

"Then why make me brake it off? Why not keep her happy?"

"Because we don't want you at the palace, for one," Another guard chipped in.

"We don't know how dangerous you are."

"We don't want you to fall to your death, causing her to kill herself."

"So you're telling me she's suicidal?" Will said, angered over the guard's behavior.

"Yes, you dolt! I thought you would have realized by now!"

"But wont she take the breakup kinda hard?"

"No, Celestia is talking to her right now to ensure she doesn't do anything drastic," the first guard replied, before returning to his plot line. "Anyway, we're going to get rid of you now. Any last words?"

"Tell Luna I still love her."

A hoof collided with his face, and he feigned slipping into unconsciousness.

_I__only__have__one__shot__at__this__._

"Tie the weight on, then get him back on the chariot. We're ending this."

As the guards tied what felt like an anvil to his feet, Will slowly moved his hand towards his knife. Luckily, they hadn't tied his hands together very well.

He was then rolled onto the chariot, followed by the anvil.

"Shouldn't we break his legs or something?" One of the guards asked as he prepared himself for takeoff.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Yeah, that is a bit extreme, huh?"

_Thank__god__._

They took off at an alarming pace. He was sure he was going to slip off, but amazingly he didn't. Not until they turned the carriage on a hard left, flinging the anvil off, followed by a surprised Will.

_C__'__mon__Houdini__... __don__'__t__fail__me__now__..._

Will was able to draw his dagger as the anvil hit the water. He almost hit it face first, but he was able to avoid it by flipping onto his back, resulting in one of the most painful back flops imaginable. For the first few seconds, he was unable to move under the murky water. Eventually working up the strength, he managed to cut a single bond. Then another. But he was running out of air- his lungs were burning for a breath. He knew he could hold it for a maximum of four minutes if needed, but he might give in before he reaches that point. Cutting, he finally freed himself of his restriction bonds then began with the anvil's rope. It was much larger then the other one, and harder to reach, too. A minute passed. He was halfway through the rope. He could hear his lungs screaming at him for air, yelling louder with each desperate heartbeat.

At last, he was free. Kicking off the bottom of the floor, he managed to reach the surface with what felt like hours.

The guards, thinking he was unconscious, dropped him off only a few hundred feet from shore. Reaching it was a different matter altogether. He was still weighted down with his equipment, and the tide wasn't in his favor, either. But he eventually made it, collapsing as he did so. But he couldn't give up to rest, not yet, not until he had warned Luna of her lunatic sister's plots, about how he was wrong about her true age, and everything.

Now, if only he could find his way _back__._

He looked at his surroundings. Then the sun.

It was still the afternoon, and he was only out for maybe thirty minutes. Unless if the guards kept him asleep for a day or so, keeping him alive just to throw him in the ocean.

No, they wouldn't do something like that. That would be a waste of their time. If anything, he was about a three hour walk from the palace... and maybe...

_Wait__a__second__... __this__looks__very__familiar__..._

And it was. This was the beach he arrived on. The beach he returned to too gather sea weed and sand to create glass.

He was about a one hour walk to his house.

"These guards are so... stupid... I'm surprised the kingdom hasn't been taken over yet," He started the short journey to his house, mentally preparing himself for a one person raid on the castle.

He arrived shortly after his quick dip in the ocean, surprised to see his house still intact. Gathering supplies, he readied for his trip.

He changed clothes first. It would be very bad on his health to travel with salt in them. And so, he picked up something more fitting for his future operation.

He was going to sneak up to Luna's balcony to tell her what happened. If everything goes well, she would listen. If not...

He cringed to think about it.

Picking up his bow, a pickax, and all of the rope he could, he managed to fit them onto his second set of clothing.

It was a dark blue set of leather complete with a hood, harvested from a dragon that died of old age. It was thick, durable, and hard to see at night. But it did have it's flaws- it was insanely hot during the day. But he would reach the castle an hour or so before dawn, hopefully avoiding detection before then.

He was now ready. He set out on foot, stopping as he heard a sudden growl coming from behind him.

It was the Manticore again.

"Stop!" Will said, right before it pounced. Amazingly, he obeyed.

"Look, I know we've had our differences, but can't we just put it all aside and be friends? After all, we almost killed each other like... a hundred times, right?"

The Manticore, surprised, actually sat down and nodded it's huge, hairy head.

"Well look, today, I might not be coming back at all. And I'm just as tired about this fight as you are, and I really need help.

The Manticore nodded, as if agreeing.

"I was wondering, could you help me reach the palace? I know you know where it is- you've been here longer then me. Could you lead me there?"

The Manticore sat in complete concentration. After a few moments, he agreed, stepping forward, offering Will if he wanted a ride.

"Thanks, I owe you one. You can stay in my house whenever you like, okay? You can even use my bed."

The Manticore gave some sort of laugh, before plunging ahead into the undergrowth.

The trip was amazingly short with the Manticore's swift pace through the forest. He came across many beautiful areas on his way, all of which the manticore slowed down slightly so he could see it better.

But it was getting dark, and harder for Will to see. They arrived as the moon began to rise in the sky, filling it with it's beauty, though it looked... bland. As if it might rain, though it was completely dry.

Stepping off his back, Will thanked him before he dashed off back into the undergrowth, probably to claim Will's bed.

"Now, for the hard part." Will was at the base of the mountain, at least four hundred feet away from his destination. Taking out the pick, he began his long, grueling ascent. It was hard- every muscle ached with the effort. But he formed a pattern- ten minutes of searching for hand holds and climbing, and five minutes of resting, so he would preserve his strength. But finally, after an hour and a half, he reached Luna's balcony- the same balcony he was dosing off on that morning.

Tapping on the glass, he peered inside, searching for Luna. Realizing the door was unlocked, he stepped inside.

"Luna?" He said. Regretting not bringing his lantern, he called again, louder.

"**Luna****?**"

Suddenly, light filled the room as a small explosion went off- Celestia was in there the entire time.

"Don't you see, sis? I told you he was bad for you. He was coming to kill you." Celestia said to a surprised Luna, who stood there in a state of delirium.

"Will... it can't be true..."

"But it is."

Will, after the shock, had had enough.

"No, you liar!" He stood up, though he didn't draw a weapon.

"I came here for two reasons, too apologize and to warn you, Luna-" Will was cut off as some magical force took hold of him. It was Luna herself. She was crying.

"How can I believe you?" She said, drawing him closer. "After what you said to Celestia... how you would swear to kill me..."

"I- I would _never_ say that!" Will angerly retorted, struggling to free himself of the magical hold.

"Good Luna, squeeze him _harder__..._" Celestia said, adding her power to Luna's.

"I'm... trying to... but... I can't..." She was sweating from the effort. Celestia took a step forward and examined the armor Will was wearing.

"What a smart boy..." She said, turning back to Luna. "He's wearing Dragon Leather. One of the few things that can almost completely resist magic... proof that he came here to kill you, that and the weapons." She took away his bow, his dagger, his sword, and all of his arrows with her own magic.

"Guards! Bring this one too the dungeon. We'll be having an execution tomorrow."

Luna's eyes went wide with shock.

"You can't be serious, Celestia." Luna said, almost letting loose Will's magical bonds. She applied more pressure as he struggled.

"But I am, Luna."

Luna's eye twitched when she heard her sister say her name.

"Sis?" She said, looking towards her with confusion.

"What is it, Luna?" She said. Luna's eye twitched again.

"What was the name that you use to call me as a young filly?"

"What are you talking about, Luna?"

"It's the same name that you've been calling me since then."

"Um... er..." The guards arrived, providing an excellent distraction.

"Oh, guards, take this one to the-"

"You didn't answer my question, _Sis__._" Luna now turned on Celestia, relinquishing her hold on Will. The guards stopped, confused as to what to do.

"Um... GUARDS! Both of them, too the dungeons, NOW!"

"But Celestia, she's your sister!" One of the braver guards said, stopping the rest in their tracks.

"Do it! Now!" The guards looked at each other, then forced the two towards the exit.

"Let go of me, I'm a princess, a REAL princess, Celestia is an impostor!" Luna said, thrashing wildly. But the guards didn't dare disobey their leader's order. Soon, they were brought upon a heavyset door made of wood and iron, then both were thrown in without a care.

"Hello..." A small unicorn said in the corner. She was light blue, her mane was a whitish color, and she appeared like she had been in here for a week or so. "My name is... is..." She stopped, as though she was afraid to give it away. There was an awkward silence, at which Will was ignored on both sides.

"What is your name?" He asked, but the unicorn only turned her head. Luna didn't even acknowledge him with that.

"Luna... I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings... at the time, I thought you were alive for one thousand years, okay? Then, a guard pony told me that you were trapped in the moon for that whole time... you know, before he tied an anvil to my legs and threw me in the ocean." Luna's ears twitched and she turned around.

"Why didn't you believe me when I told you I was eighteen, then?"

"Because Celestia told me that you weren't... and that when I grew old and died, how sad you would be..."

"You... could have told me... I would have noticed something was wrong before any of this happened..." She started to cry, though it was more of a mixed one- both happy and sad. Will leaned forward, gripping her in a hug.

"Don't cry Looney..."

Luna froze.

"What did you call me?"

The unicorn became stalk still, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't.

"Celestia? _Sis__?_" Luna approached her, looking deep into her eyes. Something deep inside of Luna clicked, and she suddenly grabbed the pony in a enormous hug.

"Celestia! Who did this to you!"

"Finally, someone said my true name! I can speak freely now!" The unicorn's voice changed into Celestia's. Letting go of Luna, she began to explain.

"It was after the Grand Galloping Gallah, and I was returning home from a certain shop in Canterlot. Suddenly, I was hit by something and I fell, then I woke up here. I've been here for about six days now, and that imposter has been forcing me to rise the sun each day."

"How? Can't you just ignore her or something?"

"Believe me, I've tried..." She turned around to show them the fresh scars on her back. One was even bleeding slightly.

"Here, let me take care of that for you, your highness." Will pulled a small bag from his pocket, applying ointment from his supplies to the cuts. Celestia let out a held in breath.

"Thank you, young one. May I ask your name?"

"I'm Will. I somehow landed in this world when I fell asleep in my own. But I have a question, have any other humans been found here?"

"...None that I know of," Celestia said, pacing around. "Now we must find out what that impostor wants..."

…

A long silence followed, until Will offered the best explanation.

"Maybe she just wants to rule over everything? Like a goddess?"

"No, that's not it... there must be something that she wants..." Luna eventually joined in the pacing, too.

"What if... what if she wants to create a new regime..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in my world, we vote for who leads our people. Each have different goals they want out country to accomplish, and we vote for the one who's set the most beneficial ones. Well, sometimes they change their goals for their own benefit..." Will chipped in.

"That could be it, but what?"

"I don't know, usually it's for their own benefit... or something... wait a second..."

"Yeah?"

"You know how I came from a different world? What if she's from a different world, too... and she wants something here."

"Like what? Gems? Gold? Water?"

"I wouldn't put it past them for something like water." Will continued to think on the ground, when the door opened.

"Hello there, my pretties..." The impostor said, smiling.

"Who are you? We already know this is the real Celestia."

"Oh darn, how did you figure that out?" She smiled, laughed even.

"Well it doesn't matter. Who are you going to tell, huh?" She paced around a bit, spreading her stolen wings.

"By the way, how are you enjoying my old body? I didn't need it anymore, so I thought you should have it. You know, while others can use theirs." She looked at Will.

"Who are you, tell me, now!" Will said, stepping forward, but he was repelled by a barrier.

She laughed merrily.

"I am the new Celestia, if you haven't heard. But if you must know my old name, it was Trixie. _The__Great__and__Powerful_ Trixie, to be exact." She laughed again, leaving through the door.

"Celestia, be a dear and raise the sun for me in the morning, please?"

"_Never__again__._"

"You'll stop fighting after a while." She laughed again and slammed the door with magic. Shortly afterwords, three plates of what appeared to be gruel slid under the door.

"You were right the first time, Will. It was worship."

"I guessed that."

"How are we going to escape?" Luna asked, kicking away the plate of slop with her hoof. It slid through the barrier with ease, but the food didn't pass through.

"Wait a second..." Will put his hand on the barrier, then picked up a plate and stuck it above his hand. He was able to slide it through.

"You have got... to be kidding me... anyone can escape through this."

"Not if you're a pony you can't."

"But in case you hadn't realized, _I__'__m__not__a__pony__._" Will picked up the second plate, and holding the two above his head, he slid through the barrier.

"Now what are you going to do, huh? You can't break down that wall, and we can't use magic near the dungeons, there's spells in place that silence it."

Will approached the door, examining it closely. He laughed, took off his boot, then showed them it.

"You see this?"

They nodded.

"I can break down this door with one boot and it's contents." He slid out a small knife from the stitching. Taking it in one hand, he shoved it between the hinge and the wall. Shaking it into place, tapped it lightly with his boot a few times. Soon, the nails were removed from the first hinge, and he moved onto the second, then third.

"Wait, Will, stop. Before you remove the last nail, help us get out of here?" Will stopped, turned around, then put his knife into his boot and his boot on his foot. Taking the tree plates, he managed a large gap for the Princesses to pass through.

"Are you ready?" He said, approaching the door.

"As I'll ever be."

"Yes, but be quiet."

Will shook the last nail out of place, pulling the door towards him as he did so. Setting it down gently, he peered into the dark hallway.

"Will, you're amazing." Luna whispered too him.

There was a sleeping guard at the end of the corridor. But from Will's speculation, he was a light sleeper- you can tell how hard it is too wake someone up by their posture while sitting and sleeping. If he was slightly stiff, he wakes easily. If he was a rag doll, then you can kick him and he wouldn't even notice.

The same must apply to horse, because he stopped snoring when Will took a normal step.

"This one's a light sleeper, stay here while I deal with him, got it?" Luna nodded, while Celestia peered around the corner.

"You know, if you had weapons they may be in the armory at the other end of this hall."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's like twenty paces from the dungeons. I've asked them to move it like a hundred times, but they keep telling me nopony can escape, much less pick the locks on the armory door."

"Well, they'll listen after this." Will took off his boots and took out a small, metal utensil from the other boot.

"What's that?"

"Pick-lock. I keep losing keys."

Will tip toed across the floor, making less noise then a scared mouse. Slipping the pick into the lock, he twisted it around a couple of times before finding a tumbler.

"Here we go..." Sliding it upwards, he managed to click it into place. Moving on to the next, he fixed all seven into their respecting heights. The door swung lightly ajar, and he stealthily made his way in. There were no guards in this room, just an odd variety of weapons. Some were meant for Unicorns- enchanted pieces of metal that levitated an inch above the ground, ready to be thrown with magic. Or a spear that always returned to the caster. There was also a variety of book on magic spells. In the back with the earth pony weapon's were Will's bow and arrows, his sword and his dagger. He loaded his quiver and readied an arrow.

"Celestia," He whispered upon his return, "Is it okay if I kill this guard up ahead?"

"No! It isn't. Can't you incapacitate him or something?"

"Not unless you want him to sound the alarm afterwords."

"We don't have to hurt anypony- just use magic." Luna said, attempting to step out the door.

"Except, Luna, you can't use magic in this corridor, and the sound of hooves on stone will wake him."

There was a silence in the room as Celestia though about the suggestion.

"Incapacitate him and I'll handle the rest, okay?" She said, readying herself at the door. Will nodded, took aim and fired.

The guard was struck in the shoulder and he fell, confused. Then the pain hit him, but before he could utter a yelp, Celestia bucked him unconscious.

"Wow... nice one, Celestia." Will said, pulling the arrow from the bleeding pony. Drawing from his kit again, will applied some of the same ointment he gave Celestia to the injury, then stuffed the hole with a cotton ball to prevent further bleeding.

"Was it really necessary to shoot him though?" Luna asked, viewing Will's handiwork.

"Well, if Celestia just charged him, I think he could have alerted more guards before she reached him. And if I tried to sneak over there and knock him out, it would only be for a minute or two. This should keep him down for... at least thirty minutes." Will cleaned off his arrow and stuck it back into his quiver.

"Now, we have two options: I could sneak ahead and scout the area, or we could remain in a group. Either way, we're most likely to be caught.

"Or we could just skip that part all together and use this side passage around the corner of this hall." Celestia pointed with her hoof at the end of the corridor, where a torchlight began to glow.

"_Or__we__could__hide__before__we__'__re__spotted__._" Will propped the guard back onto his chair, hiding behind him as a jailor walked by.

"Celestia, do you know all of the guard's routes?"

"Yes, but Trixie may have changed them, and started to guard the passages."

"Worth a shot. Do you think it's safe to pass?"

"Not until that jailor walks back, in about two minutes."

"Okay, now, I need to know something before we take on Trixie. Do you still have your full power?" Will asked Celestia. She frowned.

"Unfortunately, no. She took it with my body by using dark magic."

"Then how come she forces you to raise the sun?" Will asked, now utterly confused and flustered.

"Because my spirit is tied to it- as long as I'm alive, I'm the only one who can raise it. No matter the body, it's my job. Nopony can take it from me, and it's the same with Looney," She smiled at her sister, "We share a special bond. Our souls are tied- as long as the other soul is on this terrestrial plane, one of us can raise the other's. It's a fail-safe- even if one of us dies, we can preserve the other in a Soul Stone and continue as if nothing happened."

Luna twitched her ears, then frowned.

"Trixie told me that she stuck Will in a Soul Stone... is this true?"

"No, it's impossible- it's extremely high powered magic, and ties both of the users to the Stone. If she did it, she would be the only one who could touch it without breaking," She looked to Will. "It appears he forced himself into the Stone, causing it to become something even stronger- a Romance Stone."

"Okay, now I'm really confused... like I've been hit in the head with a shovel..." Will scratched his throbbing head. All of this plot development- I mean explanations were getting to him.

"A Romance Stone is equivalent to a Spirit Stone, though it can be picked up only by someone who cares for the one who died. It separates the body from the mind, allowing the body to die and regenerate, coming back to life as the stone is set onto the corpse. I'm pretty sure Trixie doesn't know this. She must have seen you come to life, remember some document from my library, then told you about the Spirit Stones, probably to gain your trust, Looney."

"Okay, I can't take this anymore. We need to get you back into your real body. How can we do that?" Will whispered as the guard passed by again, not even bothering to glimpse down the hallway.

"There is two ways we can do this: the way Trixie did it, by knocking me out and swapping shells with me, or by using another, more complex spell," Celestia began, whispering as she led them too the hidden passage, pulling a loose stone and forcing open the hidden passage by magic. Closing it, they continued on their way.

"It's called the Seer's Swap. It sets their soul in the right body, along with any wounds obtained, while placing the other's soul, willing or not, back into it's rightful body. It's a spell created to counter the one Trixie used on me, though it will be hard to do, considering she either needs to be willing or weakened first," Celestia stopped. "I think we are out of the Dungeon's silencing range."

She lit up her horn, filling the passage way with light. Restarting her pace, she continued to ramble on about magic.

"Now, for the final part of the spell. It's called the Seer's Swap because it tends to alter time when it's performed. Usually, it ages the users by a year or two, or even reduces them to babies- nopony can guess the outcome, kinda like the future."

A heavy silence as the continued up a path of stairs.

"Where does this lead, anyway?" Will asked as he touched the dusty walls with an gloved hand.

"This particular one leads to the dining hall, though it branches off into the Mage's Study and the Library."

"Which one is closer to where Trixie is?"

"Believe it or not, I can sense her with magic- she's in the Library with another pony, though I can't identify the other one at the moment..."

Another silence as Celestia clopped along, turning off a passage on the left. It was more ornate then the others, with marble walls and steps.

"So, how are we going to take Trixie down?"

"Don't you mean how _you_ are going to take Trixie down?" Celestia said, without even looking back.

"What? Why me?"

"Oh, yes, I can definitely take on someone who currently has one thousand times more power then me, unarmed besides a little bit of magic and an extensive knowledge of spells, most of which would destroy this body when I performed them. And I doubt Looney can take her on, either- she's too young, and she hasn't had enough experience to fully practice her abilities."

"Hey!"

"No offense, Looney," Celestia stopped at the last step before a small landing.

"Are you ready, Will? Up ahead is the hidden door to the library. We'll have to stand on the sidelines as you face her, offering nothing but more resistance to magic," Celestia's horn went out, and the corridor went dark. "When you enter, don't let your presence none until you are within striking distance, okay?" She said, growing very serious.

"And Will," Luna chipped in.

"Yes?"

She pressed her lips to his, a fiery passion finally unleashed as they entered a moment of bliss. The kiss was broken off way before Will wanted to end, but there was no time for anything more then that.

"Good luck."

Will gave one final hug before stepping forward.

"And don't forget Will, if you kill her, I'm stuck like this forever!" Celestia whispered after him, kind hearted, though with a hint of warning.

Will touched his hand to the marble, feeling for some kind of indention, or lever, until he found a small rope hanging off the wall. Pulling it, a small hammer rose, allowing the door to noiselessly slide open. Stepping forward, he left it open as he began to explore the vast selection of books for no story in particular, but for voices.

"...so what did Luna do, exactly?" He heard a familiar pony's voice arise from the darkness. There were no torches lit at the moment, but in the distance Will could see a light.

"She betrayed me, siding with the human in an attempt to kill me and take the throne." Will could feel his blood boil as he approached as quietly as a field mouse. Night vision fading, he could spot two shapes as they sat around a fire.

It was Twilight Sparkle, having her mind corrupted by Trixie.

"So their in your dungeon, right now?"

"Yes, and I'll have the human executed to see if it could remove the enchantments he placed on Luna."

"It's such a shame... I really liked him, too. He was always so nice, he seemed so pure..."

"Well, you can't always judge a book by it's cover."

"You're so right, Trixie," Will said, stepping out of the shadows.

"_What__is__he__doing__?_" Luna asked as she viewed the scene from atop a bookshelf. "_Why__did__he__blow__his__cover__like__that__?_"

"He's... well... I don't know..." Celestia whispered back, watching the scene with her from above. "Wait a second... he's trying to sway Twilight Sparkle onto his side. See? He's unarmed."

Trixie stood up, spreading her wings in defiance.

"You! How did you escape your prison?"

"How did you steal Celestia's body?" At the mention of stealing, her horn glowed with magic. Attempting to pick him up, she failed with Luna's and Celestia's magic fighting back, silencing a good portion of her true power.

"Celestia, what does he mean by-"

"He's lying, trying to tempt you into siding with him!"

"Well, you're right there, Trixie. I am trying to convince Twilight her mentor isn't her mentor. Haven't you noticed anything... different, about her recently?"

Twilight, still sitting on the ground, began to stand up. Looking between Trixie and Will, she didn't know what to do.

"Twilight!" The real Celestia said, in Trixie's original body. Her attention snapped to the small pony on the shelves and her mouth fell open.

"...Trixie?"

"No, I'm not the real Trixie! She is! She stole my body!" With Celestia's distraction, Trixie to the time to charge at Will, knocking him down while only partly penetrating his armor with her horn. He rolled out of the way as she tried to smash her forelegs down upon his face.

"Enough!" Throwing Twilight with magic, she knocked her unconscious, tipping the scales onto her side again. Will drew his blade.

"You know, I think your show is over." Swinging, Trixie caught the blade with her horn, parrying it and attacking with her hooves again. Missing, she struck the ground a second time- the echoes reached the hallway, summoning guards to investigate the noise.

Within moments, four new guards entered the room, joining the fray and attacking a struggling Will. He could only focus on a few ponies at a time, leaving his back open to hooves as they smashed into his back.

Suddenly, two of the guards were dragged out of the battle, Luna and Celestia using their magic to hold them back.  
>"We can't hold them much longer Will, their armor is highly magic resistant, like yours!" Even as Celestia spoke, one of the guards managed a step forward.<p>

But it was enough leeway for Will to keep up in the battle. Back aching, he managed to wound a guard's hoof, forcing him to back off for a moment, leaving a gap in their offense. He drew his dagger and dodged Trixie's hooves, dropping into a crouch and slashing a wound on Trixie's neck.

"Will, look out!" More guards came, but were blown back- Twilight Sparkle has awoken, and chosen her side.

Her power was greater then originally thought of. She knocked incoming guards off of their hooves and out of the door with one blast of her horn. Looking at her horn could blind you- enough magic was coming off of it to light up the whole room.

But even with her power, she was having difficulties. She was tiring, fast, but still managed to blow away another wave of guards, slamming the iron door shut as they flew out of the room. Horn returning to normal, she started to breath heavily. A large trickle of blood sprouted off of her forehead, from when she was thrown into the wall.

"Quickly, up here!" Luna said, waving with her hoof as she pulled another guards away from the battle. As she reached the top, Will incapacitated the last guard, leaving only him and Trixie.

"You'll never defeat me, you cur!" Spinning around, she bucked Will directly in the chest, sending him flyingat an open window.

"No!" Luna yelled, using her magic in a feeble attempt at grabbing him, but she couldn't. His armor pushed it away, and made him fall even faster.

Will's life flashed before his eyes. Being teased in kindergarten because of him always wearing his hood, being teased in the first grade because he always wore his hood...

Actually, I think he was teased in every grade because he liked to wear his hood up.

And now he was falling with his hood down, approaching the ground in slow motion.

So he slid his hood on, and screamed for dear life.

To Be Continued...

What you didn't know about this story;

When I first started this story about three months ago, I intended it to be a Minecraft fanfic. And so, I left it because I couldn't think of what to do with it. On May 7th, I began to work on it again as a pony story. Around the part where I mention 'Giant Spiders' is practically where I originally left off. But I rewrote it, and on May 9th, I published the first part of a two part series. It was intended to be a short little fic about finding love in the middle of nowhere, but evolved around the part Luna tried to kill herself with Hell-thorn.

Since then, I included small hints of other things, like when Will applied _Kingsfoil_ to his wound, I took the name from Lord of the Rings, and also the same properties. But there were other references to other things I enjoy, like the _Yarrow_ leaves. If you read the Warriors series, you might know what I'm talking about.

At first, I wanted to set Celestia as a tyrannical ruler, who hated humans and human kind, but I found that too difficult to work with, so I came up with an idea, "_Why__not__throw__Trixie__in__to__find__power__through__Celestia__?_" I find it a good plot twist, though a little hard to believe. NOW, time to end this thirteen hours of carpal tunnel with the acknowledgements...

Acknowledgments;

Everyone on ponychan, of course, for inspiring the idea. I would also like to thank Lauren Faust for creating Luna- but also leaving some details out, enough for me to fill with a shy, depressed personality. I would also like to thank those who tried to help me name the story, though never could. Good try, bronies, good try. And I'd also like to thank everyone who is reading this, because I'm pretty sure your eyes are bleeding after so much text.

Because if your eyes are bleeding, you can't read this.

And that's how Equestria was made. THE END :D

PS, I just finished editing it. It should look and sound better. (Thursday, June second, 2011, timestamped for proof.)

Oh, and this story NEVER made it to Equestria Daily. I sent a few Emails, but... I was ignored. Didn't even receive a reply. :(

Also, before you argue about something in this story, take this into the equation... Everything that Will created and was mentioned, I know how to make as well. I can forage for the supplies in the wilderness and find them on my own, and create them. I've read countless articles on smelting, so arguing over something like finding iron is a moot point by now. The herbs were completely fictitious or had a replaced name, so you can't argue over those. Saying something stupid like "X doesn't make sense because it's unlikely" will result in me shutting you up myself with facts and theories. That, and THIS IS A FICTIONAL STORY. Doesn't have to make sense if I don't want it to, and arguing will not help your case. I could say suddenly Pinkie Pie saved them all for no reason, and you wouldn't be able to complain.

TL;DR Just because you don't like it or it's unlikely means you have to attack me over it. Complaining will result in you being shut up by myself personally. Got it? Good.

(EDIT)

This version is MEANT for Google Docs, but unfortunately, they're a bunch of jerks, so I had to transfer it... anyway, don't mind the formatting, a lot of this is supposed to appear differently.


	2. Chapter 2

_The Night's Tale, Part Two_

_This part has ten times as much spell check, fact check, and reality check then the first. That, and improved usage. I'm also going to cut minor details and rush it a bit, so deal with it._

_Also, the version on was a bit... flawed. I don't have the time to go back and fix it though, sorry. Remember, it was transferred from Google Docs._

_Crunch._

It was an awful sound to hear, no matter how many times you've heard it. Will landed on his back, smashing and splintering bones and vertebrae. He couldn't move. He couldn't breath. The adrenaline pumping through his body began to slow, until the pain hit him.

He was drowning in his own blood- his ribs had pierced the lungs. He was going to die, without a second chance- no magical object to imbue his mind with.

The world lost it's color as the night carried on. Staring up at the moon, he felt the heat pass through his body, into the cold mud. Pain ripped through his flesh, searing him to his core.

Closing his eyes, his mind passed, and his soul vanished.

Will, was truly dead.

The outcome was just as she had expected. The body hit the ground, and didn't move again. Truth be told, if she didn't kick him out of the window, she would have lost that battle.

Now, to deal with the other three.

Twilight Sparkle would have to be brain washed- there was probably a spell somewhere in the library for such an occasion. Celestia and Luna would have to be imprisoned for the rest of their days- until she could decide what to do with them. Until they could relinquish their abilities and pass them onto her, she would have to keep them under lock and key.

But it was easier said then done- because they immediately escaped through the open window on Luna's back.

Dispatching guards to Ponyville, Trixie began the process of making the trio fugitives, concocting stories and such to pass on to the media.

Celestia- or Trixie, is what she would tell the crowds, somehow managed to hypnotize Luna and use her to capture Twilight. Coming from their Princess, this was a totally believable story. They ran because Celestia found out. They're all a bunch of stupid, illiterate ponies anyway, so they'll believe just about anything, right?

Luna landed near Will's body, much to Twilight's distaste.

"He's dead, Luna. We can't do anything about it. Come on, the guards will be here shortly to collect the body-"

"No," She said, pawing the ground.

"Look, Luna. We can't do anything about it. The first magical law of healing states so clearly: Once the spirit has left this world, there's nothing you can do to bring it back. His corpse is cold. He's dead. There is no Spirit Stone to bring him back, either. Come _on_ Luna, there isn't time!" Twilight said. Guards were being dispatched from the castle as she spoke.

"We're bringing him with us."

"What?"

"We're bringing him with us. He's going to get a proper burial, even if I have to go with him."

Picking up the corpse, she slung it on her back, grimacing at blood began to drip onto her clean coat.

"Looney, that wont work. You're going to leave a blood trail." Celestia said, trying to force reason on her. It didn't work.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to drag him with magic to prevent it from happening."

Picking him up again, she kept her promise- using magic, he floated along lifelessly, following behind Luna like a ghost.

"Enough! Come on, we have to make it to White Tail Wood before they catch us!" Twilight said, running in the direction of the woods. Following behind, the group managed to stay together and duck under the shadows of the trees, just as the guards made contact with the crime scene. Looking for the body, one of them peered into the forest.

"We forgot something, didn't we?" Twilight said, frowning. Suddenly, the guards began to line up, and head in their direction.

"I think so. That's just our luck, mud and hoof prints. We have to find hard ground, and fast. Come on." Leading the group, they vanished from sight as the guards followed increasing their pace as they approached the forest.

"Spread out and find them, we can't let them escape!"

Minutes passed. Hours. Still, no sign of the guards, or even the sound of them searching. They were safe for the moment, in the center of the forest.

"I'm not raising the sun." Celestia said, laying on the ground in her small pony body. Luna was laying next to Will's corpse, tears in her eyes as she looked upon his features. Twilight was nowhere to be found- she had left to contact her friends, before the guards and media could react. She would also return with supplies, enough for a few days.

"Tia... is there any hope?" Luna said, looking up from Will's pale face.

"I don't know, Sis... sometimes, things just happen, and there's nothing we can do to stop it... but we can't let his body stay out any longer. We have to bury him. Here, I'll help..."

Using her magic, she began to scoop away dirt, fatiguing herself rapidly in the process. Removing three feet of topsoil, she measured the grave next to Will's body. With a few more adjustments, it was large enough for the corpse.

"It is done. Do you want me to help you...?"

She sniffed, looking down into the hole.

"I'll do it."

Lifting his corpse up with magic, she set him down lightly in the center, crossing his arms. Trying to clean the blood off of his face with magic, it wouldn't come off.

"Sis..." Celestia said. Luna ignored her.

"Sis... it isn't coming off..." No response. She was still trying to clean off the blood.

"Looney... Looney... LUNA!"

She finally broke down, collapsing on the forest floor, crying. It was too much... too much...

Going to her side, she sat down next to her younger sister, giving her a shoulder to cry on. For a few minutes, she sobbed miserably, until...

"Hey," A familiar voice said. It was like a echo- reverberating heavily at the beginning, but coming into focus at the end.

"Will?"

"Yeah?" Same echo- same voice.

"Y-...You're-..."

"Dead? Yeah, I know that."

Suddenly, a shade appeared, forming into something resembling Will.

"Look, I'm a ghost now!"

"..."

"..."

"What?"

Luna fainted. Celestia went into shock.

"Why... how... WHY DON'T YOU DIE ALREADY?"

"But... I am dead..."

Obviously not amused by the ghostly joke, Celestia began to question him as Luna came too.

"How... how did you manage THIS?"

"I don't know. The light was too bright, so I walked away. But I'm dead, I know that. I'm thinking about haunting your castle..."

"How can you joke in a time like this? You're dead- our castle and lively hoods have been stolen by some crazy... crazy _bitch,_ and you're laughing it up like it doesn't even _matter!_ Really?"

"Yeah... sounds about right. Anyway, it's pretty cool being a ghost. I get to fly around... and I can walk through walls... oh, and I can't feel pain. That's a big bonus."

"That's because you're _dead._ Nopony can feel pain when they _don't have a body to feel with._ How did you... what can we... you've got to be kidding me..."

"Hey, look on the bright side! I can be with you, _FOREVER!_"

"Okay, I'm suddenly less attracted to you now," Luna said, finally speaking up. "...why can't you just let me have my sad moment _in peace?_"

"Because it's only a sad moment if I don't come back."

Stretching, he pretended to lay down next to his old body.

"Celestia... Tia, look..."

"What?"

"You know the number one rule of healing magic?" She said, standing up.

"Yeah...?"

"His spirit didn't leave. We still have his body..."

For a moment, Celestia looked between the two bodies, the soul and the corpse.

"It's so obvious... how come I didn't see it in the first place?"

"What are you two talking about?" Will said popping out of the hole. Luna lifted his lifeless body out of the grave, setting it down lightly.

"Do you think we can fix this?" She said, turning the body around and around.

"We'll have to strip it down to see exactly where he's injured at, but yeah, it's possible."

"What do you mean by, '_strip it down_', exactly?" He said, looking between the two. They looked at him and smiled.

"Oh god..."

Sneaking quietly, Twilight walked over to Applejack's window. She had used her magic to warp there, saving time, and under the cover of darkness, she was really hard to spot. Tapping lightly on the glass, she waited.

Nothing.

Tapping again, harder, she waited for Applejack to open the window.

Still, no reaction.

Hitting the window hard, she almost cracked the glass as Applejack stumbled over.

"Twilight?" She said, bleary eyed and tired. Looking at her clock, she flinched.

"Eight in the morning? How come the sun hasn't come out? That would explain why the roosters haven't crowed... anyway, what's going on?"

"Look, you remember Trixie, right?"

"Er... that pony that kept boasting? Yeah, I wanted to chase her down and beat her with a stick..."

"...You know what, I don't even want to know. Anyway, she somehow managed to steal Celestia's body. Now she's after me, Luna, and the Real Celestia. And the problem is, we need help."

Applejack looked at Twilight for a moment. Then she began to laugh.

"Well darn it, this is the weirdest dream I've ever had! Saying Trixie could do that and all... heck, wait till Granny hears about this one!"

"Applejack, you're not dreaming. The real Celestia isn't going to raise the sun until she's back in her throne room, in her own body! Look, you know Will?"

"Yeah, that weird monkey thing from that ball?"

"Trixie killed him."

Applejack stopped smiling.

"Twilight..."

"Yes?"

"I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"That's what I've been trying to say! Poke yourself if you don't believe me!"

"You know what, I believe you. Come on, I have some stuff y'all can borrow in the barn. Let me get my hat... I'm coming with y'all."

Jumping out the window, she dashed to the old barn, swinging open the doors. Scavenging through old plows and such, she finally returned with a couple of old tents.

"This'll do us! Here, help me grab some apples for the road..."

"Why do you have tents at all?"

"Use to have to keep watch over our garden ya know? Keep out them critters at night. They're a bit old, but they'll do us kindly."

Setting up a wagon and filling it with supplies, Twilight made a quick decision.

"We could possibly use the Elements of Harmony on Trixie... it might actually work..."

"Well then what are ya waiting for? Go get the rest of them! I'll get my necklace doohickey right now."

Dropping the cart, Applejack jumped through her window, before reappearing moments later with the Element of Honesty hanging from her neck.

"Twilight?" She said, looking around. On the cart was a note...

"Going to get everyone else, be right back."

"Could have at least told me..."

Luna giggled as she viewed Will's naked body.

"Oh shut up!" He said, blushing (which is pretty hard for a ghost). "Besides, this isn't funny! My body has bones sticking out of it's back! Not to mention broken legs and arms!"

"Oh hush, Will. You're dead, remember? You don't feel pain."

"I feel emotional pain!"

"Being embarrassed isn't that painful." Celestia interrupted, laughing a bit herself.

"Why is this so funny, anyway?"

"Just a joke, that's all... between me and Celestia."

Will looked at the two. Celestia was sitting at his feet... and Luna was sitting at his head... and in the middle was his-

"HEY!"

And they fell down on the floor, laughing hard.

"It took him a minute, but he figured it out!"

"Come on, REALLY? That's WAY above average where I come from, not to mention that no blood is flowing there at the moment, and it IS pretty cold!"

Luna couldn't help herself.

"That's the oldest excuse in the book!"

"What? Being _dead?_ Well that's a perfect excuse! What do you want me to do, huh? Do you want me to show you when I'm alive again?"

That cut her off. She quit laughing and resumed her position, blushing.

"Tia, that's enough. It's time to heal him."

"Fine... just give me a moment to breath..."

Calming down, she finally sat up straight and focused as her horn came to life, wrapping healing tendrils around the corpse. Luna added her own magic to the mix, slowly restoring the body to it's previous condition...

"Rarity!" Twilight said, banging on the Boutique's window. The white Unicorn finally answered, yawning as she lit a candle.

"What is it, darling? I was trying to get my beauty sleep."

"Grab the Element of Generosity and follow me, we have a problem."

Pinkie Pie bounced around excitedly with her Element hanging off of her neck.

"Is it a night time party?" She said, following Rarity and Twilight as they came to a alleyway, avoiding a group of guards.

"No Pinkie, it's much more serious then that. Prepare yourselves, we're about to teleport."

"What do you m-"

_Zap!_

Partially singed, they arrived at the Pegasus Pony's home. Quickly running to the door, Twilight knocked hard. A minute passed, before Fluttershy appeared in the doorway, shaking a bit.

"Uh... Twilight?" She said, trembling even harder.

"Fluttershy, you don't look so well. But there's no t-"

"I'm sorry."

"Uh oh..."

Fluttershy was shoved out of the way as a couple of guards jumped through the doorway, a Pegasus and a Unicorn. Crashing into Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie stumbled as the Unicorn cast binding enchantment after binding enchantment at point blank range, tying Twilight in enough ropes to stop a bull.

"Help!" She yelped, just before she was gagged. Pinkie caught herself, and jumped to the rescue, bucking the unicorn in the face, cracking it's horn. It cried and backed up, as energy began to build up in the fractured appendage.

"That doesn't look good..." Pinkie said, suddenly sorry for what she did. Finally, the horn exploded, throwing back the guard ponies, knocking them out.

"Er... woopsy?"

Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy stared at her with wide eyes. She smiled.

"I like Karate."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Twilight, I don't understand what you want us to do." Fluttershy said, looking down upon her element.

"I'd rather not repeat myself a hundred times, I'll tell you as soon as you can wake up Rainbow Dash and get her to come with me."

"Oh... okay then. I'll just go and get her..."

Flying slowly up to the cloud, Fluttershy began to ask Rainbow Dash nicely to wake up.

"Rainbow Dash..."

She continued to sleep.

"Rainbow Dash... wake up, please..."

No response. Still sleeping.

She considered poking her, but realized that was too intrusive. She would have to be delicate.

"Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts are here."

"Wonderbolts? Where?" She said, jumping to her hooves.

"I was kidding, Rainbow Dash... but um, Twilight needs you."

"Oh, hi Fluttershy... what are you doing in my home?"

"Um Rainbow Dash... Twilight-"

"I was having this weird dream about me and Applejack... then I remembered I had to go and help Pinkie make cupcakes, so I had to leave. But then she gave me this cupcake, and I fell asleep, so then I heard someone say Wonderbolts and I woke up... huh..."

"Rainbow Dash!"

"What?"

"Twilight needs us... I mean, if that's okay with you..."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Let's go."

"Now, we need one last thing..." Twilight said, waving them together. "I need to get the Crown of Magic. Oh, and before I forget, I should probably bring Spike along as well."

"You mean THIS Crown of Magic?" Spike said, coming from around the corner.

"Spike! How did you-?"

"I was watching Rarity's Boutique- er, to make sure nopony tried to rob the place, then you came along. I saw that she was wearing her Element, so I decided there must be some monster about to attack Ponyville or something."

"Er... why were you watching my home again?"

"Never mind that, so what's the plan?"

"Oh, how can I sum this up..."

Slipping on his armor, Will sighed.

"You know, next time you decide to resurrect me, how about I tell you where I'm hurt and you can just fix it then, huh?"

"Whatever you say... little guy." Luna said, laughing aloud with her sister.

"S-shut up! Who busted you out of prison?" He yelled, blushing.

"Oh come on, Will. We're just picking on you. It's just a little smaller then average here."

"Can we PLEASE change the topic from my body to something else? Like, I don't know, our PLAN?"

"Fine..."

Celestia began to trace a map in the dirt, outlining the castle.

"Here is my bed chambers, where Trixie is no doubt resting her head on my pillows."

"Don't you mean _your _head on _your_ pillows?" Will said, smiling.

"Shut up! Anyway, and this," Celestia said, poking a dot into the sand, "is Will's size. It's a bit big, but you get the point."

"That's it, you bring it up again, and I'll tackle you to the ground and _show _youhow big it is!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Enough! Both of you. There's a time to play and a time to plan, right now's not the time to bicker and poke fun."

"...Ha, poke."

"Celestia!"

"I can't help it! I like to cause havoc time to time, keeps life interesting." Going back to the map, she began to trace again.

"Anyway, here's the courtyard. At night, this has pretty tight security, no doubt more since our recent escape. I'm pointing this out because if we're caught, this is our main escape route. The bells would signal intruders are in the castle, so any guard would be on alert. If we place a decoy over here, and drew one guards attention to it, we should be able to draw them all out of the yard. Now, the problem is the decoy- who's it going to be?"

"Ha... I'll do it. If I die, I'll go out with style. Might be fun to jump out of another building."

"Will, I hope you know that's really unhealthy for your soul. Every time you die, if we resurrect you, shards of your soul will be lost. Just keep that in mind next time you go and get kicked out of a window that's a few hundred feet in the air, okay?" Celestia said, returning to the map.

"Now, there are several entrances we can take, four of which are going to be heavily guarded. That leaves us with three- and two of these are almost impossible to do unless if you can fly. So, the final entrance is this one-"

Drawing a tall tower, she pointed to the roof.

"This used to be Twilight's home, with an observatory in the top. This section right here should be unlocked and the building unguarded, so Will should be able to sneak in without notice. We're going to need rope, of course, unless if you can climb a one hundred and fifty foot tower without it."

"Depends. How smooth is the tower?"

"It's painted Cobblestone."

"I think I can manage it without the rope."

"Good, because I doubt we'll be able to find a supply. Okay, once you're in, I need you to go this part of the castle- the royal kitchen. There is a small door in the back, used for supplies and such. If you can unlock this door without alerting the guards, I should be able to sneak in the back."

"What about me?" Luna said, wondering where she played a part in.

"Luna, you do realize this is one of the most dangerous things ever attempted in Equestrian history, and that we're only doing this so I can get my body back, right?"

"Well what about the entrances for a Pegasus?"

"You can fly straight into the Courtyard if you can avoid the guards, or you can fly up along the waterfall on the side, into the small pool in the back. Either of those are dangerous- fly too close to the water, and you may be hit, knocking you down into the river. Run into a guard Pegasus, and you're going down. But we wont need you, if Will can take Trixie alone.

"I doubt I'll be able to it this time around."

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, Celestia. She knows my combat style, and she'll be prepared this time. Not to mention she'll probably have at least twelve guards around her at all times. Don't you have battle armor or something? If you do, I can bet you she'll be sleeping in it. Not to mention enchanting it to repel damage. Heck, if I approached her, she could incinerate me with a new spell she's studying right now. I'd have to assassinate her, or just snipe her with an arrow. A direct assault would kill me, if not, capture me and throw me in a dungeon."

"...Good point. Then what will we do? All entrances to the room will be guarded beyond reason. The only way you could enter would be if you just busted down the door and took down the guards."

"Not exactly... magic."

"Magic. Yeah, like me and Luna can form a spell powerful enough to knock her off my throne."

"Maybe not alone, but if we could get Twilight to help... she's pretty strong. I bet all three of-"

At the mention of Twilight, she returned with her friends, Elements and supplies in tow.

"That's it! Twilight! The Elements of Harmony! I didn't even consider them!" Celestia said. Walking over to Twilight and her friends, she examined them.

"Twilight, I still don't believe this is real life." Applejack said, shaking her head to make sure she was awake. "I mean, HOW did Trixie manage to steal Celestia's body in the first place? That's about near impossible."

"Desperation, mixed with the need for power and respect, that and a few spells, I guess," Will said, standing up from the map. Twilight practically snapped.

"Zombie!" She yelled, throwing a bolt of lightning in his direction. Barely dodging, Celestia had to step in to avoid Twilight killing Will.

"He's alive, Twilight!" She laughed, Twilight didn't move. Well, most of her. Her eye was twitching.

"But... but... how..."

"I didn't leave. I haunted these two until they resurrected me."

"Yeah... he was a _small_ ghost, that's for sure." Luna said, biting her lip in a attempt not to laugh.

"**WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE SIZE JOKES?**"

"Sorry, couldn't resist." She giggled. It took Spike a while, but he started to laugh too.

"I don't get it."

"Me neither."

"See... it's funny... because..."

They all looked at him with confusion.

"Er... never mind. You have to be a boy to get it."

"Next Pony, Dragon, Unicorn, Alicorn, Zebra, Horse, Pegasus, Turtle, Tree, Rock, Mustache- I DON'T CARE WHAT, mentions it, dies. Test me."

"Calm down Will, if you really want us to stop, we'll stop, okay?"

"You better, or I wont help this time. NOW, back to the map, before I start stabbing something."

"Okay, okay... now, we have to include the Elements of Harmony, so we'll have to start over. Will, you'll enter through the top of Twilight's old home. If you can avoid detection, unlock the door in the back. We'll enter through there. Now, because we have three sky-worthy ponies in our group, I suggest they set up a distraction in the courtyard, removing all of the guards from the castle. But for this part of the plan too work, we'll need an army... Fluttershy, I know you're great with animals, do you think you can convince them too help?"

"Well... um... I don't see why not..."

"Now, with the guards distracted with the onslaught of creatures and the promise of being able to capture Luna, you all will enter through the front, while they're busy. We'll meet up in the Grand Hall, and improvise from there. Is this agreeable?" Celestia said, looking around.

"Uh... sure, I guess."

"Don't see why not."

"I'm always ready for a fight!"

"I'll do my best, Celestia, though this plan will need refining eventually."

"Sounds like a party to me!"

"Under the cover of night? Sounds fair."

"You're all missing the point." Spike said, stepping forward. "I'm not in this plan!"

"That's because you're... er... going to be... the supervisor?" Will said. "You can make sure we're ready before we enter, and help chart multiple escape routes."

"Well... I was hoping for a part where I could kick some butt, but I guess that's even better."

"You really think that's a good idea?" Twilight whispered to Will as Spike viewed the map under the moonlight. Grunting, the small dragon dug through the supplies until he brought forth a candle, lighting it with his fire breath.

"Don't worry, we can always correct him. Besides, I don't see why not."

"Now, Spike, when do you think we will be ready?" Will said, smiling at the baby dragon.

"Well, from gathering animals to calculating guard routes... I'd say, two days, at the least." He said, concentrating hard.

"Sound about right. But right now, we'll rest... we have a really, really, long night to face..."

Resting was a understatement- If Celestia didn't wake Will up, he would have slept for three days. He was used to waking up when the sun would rise, even if it meant only a few hours of sleep. Stretching, he began to search around for his lantern, before realizing he didn't have it.

"Well, this is going to be harder then I thought."

Picking up a few sticks, he tied them down with some extra string in his left pocket, before bringing out a small flint. Cursing, he took out a arrow- he lost the tinder, so had to light it with steel- and struck it. Cursing again, he forgot the vital part of fire making, the small nest of kindling. Throwing down the sticks, he shrugged, putting away the arrows, settling to work in the dark.

"If you need a light, why not just ask?" Celestia said, lighting the area with the glow of her horn.

"Thanks. Hey- where's the other ponies?"

"Well Twilight has settled to sneak back into Ponyville to grab a few books and a ton of paper for maps, while Rarity went with her to grab a few things for camouflage. Applejack went home to grab a few tools, and Fluttershy is busy spreading the word around the animals. Rainbow Dash is sabotaging Canterlot, forcing a storm on her own. Pinkie Pie is getting a few things ready for our assault- some kind of smoke bomb she used to play with when she was younger. And I'm here to wake you up."

"Okay, but where's Luna?"

"She's maneuvering the moon to stay in the center of the sky. I guess she's pretty happy- night for a while, until I'm back in charge. It's taking a lot of her concentration, so try not to bother her until she's done, okay?"

"Fine fine fine... I might as well do something productive. I know a method of wood burning that creates minimal smoke, I'll start right away."

"Alright then. If you need me, I'll be out gathering Gems for Rarity... she said something about a heavily enchanted cloak for you, that requires magical storage. I'll also be supplying the barrier around the campsite with magic, to insure nopony finds us. Stray too far, and you'll become visible."

Walking away, Celestia vanished into the forest, along with the light. Selecting choice sticks, Will squinted in the darkness to make sure they were the right consistency. Coming across a large log, he set down the pile and lifted up the old tree, setting it between a bunched together duo of the same type. Pushing on one end, he snapped off a portion of it, picking up the sticks with his new yule log.

Next, he started to make kindling- tediously cutting fine hairs of wood apart, he swore as he cut his finger from the lack of light. Thirty minutes of stripping wood, he finally had a small nest of the stuff. And with a few strike from an arrow on his flint, he finally had a small campfire.

Now was the hard part- growing it without the smoke. The key to this was what you added to the fire- dry wood, without leaves, would minimize smoke, but with a few added ingredients thrown into the fire occasionally, only a small trail would appear, which would dissipate before it reached the sky. It was kind of an accident, really- throwing in a few herbs to keep the flame alive when he was younger, some of the more abundant ones. It turned out one of the more common and awkward looking flowers- purple, blue, and green, that he called 'Sourstrike' (for it's unique sour and bitter taste,) somehow _absorbed_ smoke, allowing mesquites to run rampant, but also didn't draw as much attention. After a while, he began to keep a small supply in his medical pouch- it would burn whenever applied to a wound, but somehow kept it rid of infection. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that kind of plant shouldn't exist- he never even heard of one in his home world, with the ability to absorb smoke and clean wounds, but then again, it was right in front of him the whole time, growing in fields around his home.

Watching the fire, he smiled as small green flames erupted around the dried petals. Within moments, almost all of the smoke was gone. It would stay like this for ten minutes, before he would have to throw in more. Picking up the yule log, he began to cut it with his sword- it would dull the blade, but it was better then doing it by hand- until he had four large chunks, throwing one into the smokeless fire.

Feeling some security return, he began to mentally analyze Trixie's combat style...

Obviously she preferred to use her horn over normal magic on him. It was because of his armor- if he had known it was so resilient against magic (or if magic even _existed_) he would have gathered more off of the corpse- but it's too late now. So the only thing he had to worry was the horn finding a way past the scales... he would be completely vulnerable to a blast from the thing if it reached his skin. He shivered at the thought of a direct hit... going into his body, then a wave of energy rippling through his entire being until he exploded, leaving little Will chunks everywhere.

Ow.

Magic can't fix that.

Before he could ponder the idea any longer, Spike tapped him on the shoulder.

"Will."

"Yeah?"

"You're going against Celestia first, to take down all of the guards to make room for the Elements."

"Wait... w-"

"You have too. And you can't let them live, either. If you knock them out, they're just gonna keep coming until you prove you're a force to be reckoned with."

"...You've got to be kidding me..."

"No, I'm adulting you. Seriously though, I've seen these guards in action when me and Twilight used to live in Canterlot. The only time they flinch is when somepony fights back. And when they do... well, it usually doesn't end well."

"You're acting a bit mature, you know that, right?"

"Well I have too. It's a dragon trait, wild dragon-kin, whenever something bad happens, can kinda... snap into a different... what's the word... personality. We stop playing and focus. Great for planning, running, you know, anything that saves your hide from being eaten."

"Cool. The only self defense human babies have is to cry, which doesn't work unless if their parents are nearby. But to be useless for a few years actually helped develop us- we learned more from our parents then other species, and we developed more intellectually. Basically, if we weren't useless at birth, I probably wouldn't be alive right now." Feeding more pedals into the fire, he stuck in another log.

"What's the flower stuff for?"

"No smoke, see?" Waving his hand a few feet above the fire, he demonstrated his point. Nothing.

"Nice. Anyway, back to planning..." Waving goodbye, he disappeared behind a screen of foliage, probably to crawl into a tent and pour himself over a few basic maps Celestia drew.

He couldn't handle the thought of just _killing all of the guards until they stopped coming._ _Who_ would be so stupid as to_ run straight into their death? _Must be one hell of a good pay to risk your life like that. But then again, in their mind, they're protecting their Princess, the one who raises the sun, the one who's giving them their lively-hoods...

_Well if you put it that way..._

Then Will's the bad guy. He's killing people because they think they're protecting something holy. It's not their fault...

But... then that means...

"Spike!"

"Huh?"

"Come here. I have a plan."

The baby dragon stumbled out of the bushes, scratching his head as Will began.

"The guards think they're protecting Celestia, right?"

"Yeah. But I doubt they would believe that the _real_ Celestia is a small blue pony who escaped from prison."

"They don't have to. We can prove the other's a fraud."

"Yeah, like they'll give you a chance to speak."

"Oh, they will. I'll be sure of that."

"So what? You're just going to waltz in, call their leader a fraud, and tell her to raise the sun?"

"No. The real Celestia is."

"And when Trixie can't... then-"

"The real Celestia will."

"So what? The only thing that will do is make Trixie kill all of the guards."

"Not _all_ of them. And they're wearing magic resistant armor, remember? Plus, that will gain us plenty of allies for the battle."

For a moment, Spike was silent, thinking.

"Unless... if she hired mercenaries."

"Mercenaries? I doubt it."

"Think about it, Will. She's planning ahead, too. She knows Celestia is after her body, and that she can't prove she's not an imposter besides by what she looks like. And the guards are loyal to the real Celestia. Why not pay somepony who's loyal to gold? Dress them up to look like guards... tell the others that she wants to feel 'secure'... they could even be an entirely different species... like... Dragons."

"I doubt Dragons would be in her chambers."

"And I doubt she would be in there at all." Spike countered, thinking again.

"Why do you think that?"

"She'd expect us to think she's in Celestia's Room. So why not make it a trap?"

"Then where is she?"

"The dungeons."

"The dungeons..." I said, giving him the blank stare of "I don't get it."

"Yes, the dungeons. It's fortified walls and structure make it more secure then her room, not to mention a few cells are large enough to hold a pack of Dragons comfortably, and keep them from escaping. And some of them are impossible to enter without using the only door, like the cell I'm remembering... Magically fortified walls, two hundred feet by one hundred and fifty, with a forty foot ceiling... this thing is a hundred and fifty feet down into the ground, and between that is a passage large enough to fit it's guests. I don't know how many times it's been used- but I bet Twilight does."

"You're acting way to serious for me, can you give me the 'happy' version before I snap? This all seems like a bunch of work..."

"Er... well... there is no 'happy' version. Unless if you consider emergency lava tunnels 'happy', then you're a bit insane."

"Thanks Spike, that's really comforting. So you're telling me, that I have to fight through- how long is the tunnel to the dungeon?"

"About a mile."

"A mile's worth of enemies, traps, lava, and perpetual death, the whole time guarding a group of eight ponies, just so I can face about god knows how many dragons and a tyrannical ruler. Now tell me, exactly HOW am I going to do this?"

"Er... a bunch of good luck and magic?"

"Yeah, I like how you imply luck is on my side. What are the chances she would actually USE this dungeon?"

"About... a 95% chance. The thing's pretty well known, and they give tours on the weekend."

"Damn it, why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"Didn't cross my mind."

Sighing, Will began to pace.

"I'm going to find Celestia. We need to talk about this. Now."

"Sure, she should be south from here."

Checking his bow (which someone repaired for him magically,) he strung it and slung it over his back, latching onto his quiver, hanging where his left hand could reach. Checking his sword, he sheathed it, before setting it down.

"You're not taking that thing with you?"

"Don't need to. I have a dagger if it comes to melee combat."

"Can... can I er... check it to see if it's flawed?"

"... You want to play with it, don't you?"

"No no no no, I just... um..."

"Go ahead Spike. Just be careful, and don't hurt yourself."

Finding it ironic how a Dragon wants to play with a sword, he picked up a large stick and wrapped a large piece of spare cloth over it. Hanging it over the fire, he stopped himself. It would be better to stick with night-vision and to prowl cautiously through the woods then to be spotted from his light. Instead, he took the cloth and wrapped it around most of his pedals and threw in the rest. Sticking them inside of a fresh log, he made sure they would slowly burn until he got back.

Following Celestia's trail was one of the hardest tracking quests Will has ever attempted- she was _very_ smart. And she even used magic to cover up most of her tracks- very rarely Will could find a very small part of a hoof print. After a while, he came to what appeared to be a battle scene- a bunch of hoof prints in different directions, hundreds, if not thousands.

Realizing it was a bunch of false trails, he continued south until he came to a rocky outcropping. Just barely within his vision was a light blue pony, using magic to pull out a gem or two.

Picking up a small rock, he threw it at her, almost hitting her in the head. It was better then walking up to her, probably scarring her half to death, or her using magic in a split second reaction that could be possibly fatal.

She jerked her head in his direction as the pebble hit her head. She looked in his direction, but was unable to see him.

_Of course, my armor blends in well with the night. Great._

Throwing another rock, he waved his arms as Celestia looked in his direction again, a bit flustered over who was hitting her with rocks.

"_Celestia!_" Will whispered in a rough tone.

"Will? What are you doing out here?"

"We need to talk about the plan." Climbing up the rocky terrain, Will settled himself next to Celestia.

"What do you think about Trixie using a dungeon as her hide out?"

"I thought about that. I think she wouldn't remember it, but I'm not perfect. She could be stocking provisions in it right now, who knows?"

"Well, it's up to you on which place we choose first. If we go straight for the castle, we could either be walking into a trap or to Trixie. Which do you think is best?"

…

For a moment, she appeared to be thinking with her jaw agape a bit, but looking into her eyes, you could barely see fear.

Turning around slowly, he could see in the distance... a group of a dozen or so guards, obvious in the moonlight due to their armor. Looking down, Will realized they wouldn't be able to see Celestia or himself, due to their colors.

"They can't see us, Celestia. We'll just have to whisper. Move very slowly to that boulder, we'll continue there."

Crouching down, he kept an eye on the group and the Princess as they moved closer to the rocks. They were obviously tailing Will's trail- he didn't think to cover it up this far from the roads. Hiding behind the boulder, he waited for Celestia, who appeared moments later.

"Will, did you-"

"No, I forgot. But they shouldn't be able to find the campsite, the ground is too hard near the place. This may get ugly, they obviously know one of us is here. Just stay down- I'll handle this."

"I trust you, but I still think you're outmatched."

"I have a longer reach, and we're uphill. I definitely have the advantage in this fight. Plus, they wont know what hit them."

Drawing his bow, there was no way this group could live. They were too close to the camp, they would have to 'vanish'.

Sneaking away from where Celestia watched eagerly, the first guard pointed in his direction, catching the small movements he was making.

_Stupid... MOVE with the WIND and the MOTION of the TREES, you did this a thousand times before!_

A familiar voice echoed in his head. He had no recollection of ever meeting someone so... mentoring.

_What the hell?_

_ We've been through this, Will. The darkness is your friend- move in motion, and you'll live._

_ Who are you to tell me what to do?_

And just like that, the voice went silent. Shaking his head, he finally made it to another outcropping, as a Unicorn from the guards sprang forward, launching lightning at his old position.

"That's odd... I could have sworn..."

"Stupid! You just gave us away! What if-"

A arrow bounced off his armor, and he stumbled.

"Enemy fire! Spread out and take cover!"

Cursing, Will took out another arrow as the mental voice returned, growing in strength.

_No no no no NO! What did I say about aiming with a bow? You draw the string THEN aim, picking your target! You take everything into consideration- wind, height, draw of the bow, EVERYTHING. Then you fire. Simple mistakes like this can kill a Apprentice any time..._

_ Apprentice? What do you mean, Apprentice?_

_ What have I taught you, Will? Do you NOT remember what you are? What you've trained for your whole life? Have you forgotten?_

_ I don't even know who you are!_

_ Well obviously I'm talking to a great fool... well, that's what happens when you're reincarnated- you forget some things..._

_ Reincarnated? What do you mean?_

A archaic bolt exploded near him, and the conversation ceased. Listening, he could hear their commander giving orders...

"She said the human was dead, but I guess he somehow survived! Hoovesly, get in there and take him down!"

"You know, I REALLY don't want to kill you, but you wont stop and listen to reason."

Aiming an arrow, Will struck the Unicorn named 'Hoovesly" (VERY original!) In the upper right leg, easily bypassing a notch in the armor.

"I'm down I'm down!" He cried, rolling on his side. Another pony dragged him behind the a nearby rock, probably to give some in battle speech about bravery and such. You know, the average combat cliché.

"You're serving an imposter! She's not the real Celestia! She stole her body and locked her up in her own!"

"Lies! You, yes, you, shut him up magic!"

"What kind of magic?"

"I don't know, just... kill him with fire!"

A white Unicorn stood up in plain sight, slinging a Fireball out of his horn, striking the rock in a explosion.

"WHY is it ALWAYS fire? Can't you Wizards just, I don't know, throw ICE or something?"

"Great idea! And yes, I'm a wizard!"

"How did you even get into the guards..." The commander said aloud as the unicorn froze Will's shelter with a ice blast.

Firing another arrow, Will struck the pony just above the heart, somehow avoiding the mess of veins and the jugular there. The pony fell down, screaming (weakly) in pain.

Cursing, the commander began to signal with his hooves, telling nearby ponies a new set of tactics. Peaking around, he could see they were moving, changing position for...

_A assault! They're going to charge you, and what do you do when they do that?_

_ I don't... I don't know..._

_ You switch places, idiot. What have I taught you? Only fight with your daggers as a last resort._

_ I only have one dagger._

_ Of course you do..._

The sagely mentor sighed, and disappeared again. The ponies were about to spring from their hiding places, and now would be the best time.

Moving with the shadows and the wind, Will slowly made his way along the side of the hill as the ponies ran in full force, jumping his old position and crushing- nothing.

"Where did he-"

A arrow protruded from the ponies shoulder, and Will continued as the group helped their fallen comrade, taking shelter behind the rock. The still frozen rock.

Another arrow struck the boulder- and it cracked in half, before falling apart before the Guard's eyes.

"Surrender now, or you all die." Will said, another arrow drawn.

"Why would we ever surrender to-"

"I surrender! I surrender! Don't shoot!" Taking off his armor, a guard got down on his stomach, followed by another. And another. Soon, only their commander was left standing, mouth agape as Will approached, arrow still drawn.

"Do you surrender? Or do you die?"

The last pony standing just looked at his allies- his _friends_, and gave up. Throwing away his helmet, he sat down as Will held count over the group.

"Now, will you listen to REASON, or will you continue to live in bliss, ignoring evidence and the truth?"

"Reason, just don't kill us!"

"Good... good... because I don't want to kill you all because of a few lies on your 'Princess's' part. You see, Celestia, after the Gallah, was left unguarded. Were there any guards following her? Does any of you recall?"

"They were all on shift at the castle. We didn't think she would leave."

"Well, you were wrong. Immediately after the party, her body was stolen by- guess who? The only pony you've probably ever had in your dungeons."

"Trixie?"

"Yes, but the one you threw in the dungeons was actually Celestia, under a spell that prevented others from telling her real name, until someone called her it."

"Well... it does kinda make sense... the first thing Celestia asked for was a mirror when she returned, and her selection for food was a bit... odd."

"Yeah, not to mention she suddenly became a dick, if you don't recall that."

"And visiting the prisoner pretty often, too..."

"That's because she can't raise the sun. Only the _real_ Celestia can, who's in..."

"Trixies body! It makes sense now- that's why she wont raise the damn thing, scaring us half to death saying she would let us die until she had her sister and the prisoner in her reach!"

"Yes! You get it now! Finally! Now, tell me, where is she?"

"Preparing herself for you, apparently. She's stocking up in the Excloper Dungeon," the commander said, standing up."

"Knew it. Anyway, who's side are you on?"

"Celestia's, of course!"

"Good, because she's here right now. In fact, she's right behind you."

Turning around, the guard met eyes with the real Celestia. A moment later, and it clicked.

"Celestia, my Princess!" He said, bowing his head. The others soon followed lead, bowing and neighing their praise to her.

"Thank you, Will, for the introduction. Charger, Spring, Brash, Kicker, Blake, Sting, you may all arise."

"See? She knows all of our names! It must be her!"

"Of course I know all of my Guard's names. They all aren't anonymous henchmen, are they?" She said, smiling. The guard ponies laugh.

"Anyway, bring me Hoovesly, Horston and... Derp so I can heal them."

"Derp? Really? That's that Unicorns name?"

"Yeah, he's another pony's brother, her name is Derpy because of their... mental condition. We gave him a job in the army so he wouldn't feel left out. But he's pretty decent with his magic, though a bit sloppy."

"That's Derp alright..." One of the guards said, picking up the confused pony from behind a boulder.

"Come on Derp, we're going to get Cupcakes."

"Cupcakes are good. I like cupcakes. But I hate muffins. My sister loves muffins and I love my sister. But I hate muffins. But it's okay because my sister likes them because she says they taste good and she really likes the purple ones."

"That's cool Derp, and we have Green cupcakes over here, your favorite."

"I like green cupcakes the best because they taste like funny!" He said, standing up, wincing in pain, but smiling nevertheless.

Healing Derp first, Celestia gave Will his arrow back. The second and third ponies stood the pain well, and with his Arrows fully stocked and nopony dead, he felt a bit relieved.

"I guess it's safe to trust them. And if they try anything funny, you can hit them with a solar flare like you did with that last guard who tried to kill you."

"...Solare flare?" She said, and Will winked.

"Oh, yes, of course! A blast of heat radiation from the sun! It took about thirty seconds for it to reach him, but he was begging for his life the whole time."

One of the guards stopped dead in his tracks, along with a few others who began to walk stiff. The chances of them betraying them were decreasing by the second.

"Yeah, or you could strip them of their magical powers, or their wings, leaving nothing but bare skin. But we don't have to do that, because I trust them. And if they try anything stupid, I'll just pump them full of steel arrow heads."

Twirling one of the arrows in his finger, a few of the guards gulped. Yup. They're smarter then that, they don't want to die to try and attack "Trixie", do they? Actually... why did he bring it up? Will didn't even think about it...

_That's your training. You'll start to remember as time goes by._

_ Who ARE you?_

_ Me? Nobody- just one of the King's men from your time. Well, your _past_ time._

The voice went silent again, and Will pondered on it...

Who was he?

They reached the camp to find Twilight and the others setting up more tents. Rarity was busy stitching up a green patterned cloak, with a hood large enough to cover Will's face in the shadows.

"Ah, Will, you're back! Please be a darling and try this on for me, please. It's for our upcoming mission."

"What's it do?"

"Well, naturally, it makes you invisible in a forest environment, and that's without magic. Magically, a whole lot more. Did you get the gems I asked for, Celestia?"

"Yes, I managed to find quite a few. But I stumbled across a large Emerald, like you requested.

"Thank you! With a little bit of carving and enchantment, this will be beautiful when I'm finished! Now, to tell you a bit about it while I work..."

Pulling out a small, thick knife, she began to scrape small layers of dust off of the green Gem with magic, humming a song while she did so. She stopped for a moment to explain.

"Now, the first spell I'm putting on her gathers energy from the environment, specifically the forest. It's slow, but after a few minutes, you will have quite a lot. The second spell is for camouflage, like the cloak... except a bit more advanced. Invisibility, basically. But only when you choose too- it drains from your power extremely fast, and may only last for a few minutes."

Humming again, the knife plunged into the Emerald, removing a chunk from it, into a flatter shape. This continued for a while.

"Now, the next spell is a bit more difficult, but I've discussed it with Celestia earlier, who agreed to help me place it. It's a damage absorbing spell- everytime something makes contact with you, portions of the energy from the blow will be pulled into the gem, decreasing the power of the blow and filling the gem faster. But it wont stop a blow- you'll still be bleeding, of course, but there's another spell for that. This gem will heal you quickly, if you have the energy in your body to do so. It draws off your stamina if you are bleeding to death to fix the wound- a great trade off if you ask me. Of course, it wont remove the blood stains, but it never hurts to wash your clothes once in a while, hm?"

Playing around with the gem in the air, she examined it once more, carving a few fine and delicate lines into it.

"There are also some enchantments on the cloak itself... it will repair itself over time, like you, so you don't have to worry about large holes giving away your cover. How does this look to you?"

Using magic, she held the gem in front of my face- it was a fine Oak Leaf, strong but delicate looking. It was a fine cut gem- and beautiful.

"I love it! Do you do this for a living?"

"No, not really, but gems are part of my job. I use them in dress making all of the time."

"You make dresses... out of gems? How common are they here?"

"Why, if you know where to look, you can find thousands of them. But they are still pretty rare, I will not lie. You should come to my boutique some time! I'll make you a beautiful suit- you are a boy, aren't you?"

"Yeah, isn't it obvious?"

"Well, you're the first human I've met, so I had no clue. I was just assuming you were one- your voice is pretty deep."

"Er... thanks? By the way, do you know if Luna is busy?"

"Why sure, darling. At the moment, she's in her tent, resting. She's never had to use so much magic in quite a while, is what Celestia told me."

"Thanks. And thank you for making me this beautiful cloak-"

"Don't mention it, it's the least I can do." Turning back to her work, Will left to find Luna's tent, running into Spike along the way.

"Ah, Spike. Trixie is in the dungeons, you should plan for them."

Sighing, the dragon picked up a couple of maps and tore them up.

"Fine. I'll have to get more paper from Twilight later on..."

Leaving the dragon to his duties, Will got directions from Applejack.

"She's over there in them brambles I think. Don't know why she wanted her tent in there- I guess to protect herself from some of the wild creatures out here. Like lions and those coons- wouldn't be the first time a coon crawled into somepony's tent. Oh, and before ya go, what's it like to be dead?"

"A bit random, but I don't see why I shouldn't tell you. It's like being cold... and compressed, like your clothes are way to tight. And everything is darker then normal... really hard to see and remember things from your past. Not to mention that everything goes right through you... it's very scary in my opinion."

"So... do you think any of them would haunt your house for no reason?"

"Personally? I felt like staying where I was when I died. I didn't want to move. I just... wanted to stay there... I couldn't remember what happened, but I felt I should just... not leave. But... I think I remember hearing someone say something to me, and I started to remember things, like that I have unfinished business. So I followed Luna and Celestia, and when they were about to bury me... I just had to stop them. So I guess it's possible if you don't have someone to tell you to move it."

Applejack visibly shivered, then waved him off with a hoof and began to set out lanterns from a wagon.

Finding Luna's tent, it was kind of hard to knock... Instead he resorted to calling out her name.

"Luna?"

For a moment, no answer, until he heard a tired voice reply.

"Yes, Will?"

"Can I come in?"

The zipper to the tent slowly moved, and she lit a lantern.

"Please do. We need to talk, anyway."

Stepping in, he crossed his legs and zipped up the tent again. When he turned his head again, Luna was an inch away, starring into his blue eyes.

"I want you. Now."

"W-what?"

"Take me."

For a moment, Will didn't know how to react. And without that mentoring voice to guide him, he sat there in confusion for a moment.

"I- I don't understand."

"Do I have to spell it out for you? I want you. Isn't it obvious enough?"

Embarrassed, Will began to sweat. This was WAY past his level of knowledge. He knew what she meant- but... would he really do it? He's not a pony, and it would be kind of sick to do it, not to mention wrong.

"But... I'm... I'm not a pony..."

"Do you think I care? And I'm not a human."

"But... I don't know if I'm ready yet."

"Well then, we'll have to see. I want you to prove it."

"Prove what?"

"Prove your size to me."

Will gulped. Then began to analyze the situation.

A pony he's only spent a few days with wants him... in bed. With her. A pony. And a human.

The only logical thing to do was pass out before he had a panic attack, probably killing him... again. For the third time.

Of course, he had to fake it. He was an amazing actor- able to portray any accent, or fit into any persona he could possibly try.

Falling onto his side, he let his eyes roll back slightly and his mouth open. Completely limp, he looked close to dead. In fact, if he didn't have a pulse, you could say he was dead.

Luna looked at him for a moment, then giggled.

"Well, can't say I didn't try. You know Will, I'm surprised, really. You can stand up to anything- even a tyrannical ruler and a bunch of guards. Heck, you can even die with a smile on your face... But you can't face a girl and just smile, and nod dumbly..."

She laughed a bit more, then cuddled up to him a bit before falling asleep.

_Oh god how am I going to escape from this..._

_ Personally, I would have done the same thing, because I find it sick and immoral. But she's sentient, so it's different._

_ Who are YOU to decide my love life?_

_ Your old mentor, that's if you remember me. Hell, wanna know why you're here?_

For a moment, Will thought.

_Think, boy... in your old age in your past life, what did your horse began to do?_

A image of his horse flashed in his mind... a small, stocky horse with thick fur, and a odd expression on it's face... was that a smile?

_It began to talk. Then so did the other horses- particularly our kind of horses. You know, the small, pony like ones. This was before the great war- days before it. Afterwords, humans began to fade from existence because of our dwindling numbers. Disease and corruption spread, and the fiefs fell... until Araulen, the capital of the known world, died as well. You were the last human. The last of your kind. And finally, age struck... and you died as well. You don't remember this?_

_ I think I see... I think..._

Images. Hundreds of them- so fast he could barely describe them. Fights. Battles. Wars. Death, famine, disease... his mentor's name... name...

_It's okay. It will come to you over time. But this was thousands of years ago. As you died, you refused to pass on- so you left this world. You found a new host. At birth, you were destined to die... you, Will, not my apprentice, was doomed to die. He saved you. He combined part of his own soul with yours- and here you are now. You're connected with this land. It took Will, my Will, a thousand and five hundred years to find you. By the time this happened, ponies began to evolve. I watched them- I never left. I watched as they all learned to speak... as the sun began to slow down, and the days became longer. Then, it completely disappeared one day- it went out. And on that day, total darkness... all of the ponies were confused, scared, and soon it grew cold... but one day, Celestia and Luna were born, the ones you're helping now. Magically imbued with power, they took upon themselves the job of raising a new sun and moon. I watched them, Will._

_ So... I'm alive because..._

_ Because my apprentice imbued his soul with yours, allowing you both to live. But you're connected with this world- a connection stronger then any magic could break. As long as you're here, Will, the Will inside of you, refuses to leave again. You can't die here, not completely. But your body can. If it perishes, the two of you will split, and so will the emotions and memories. Your soul will begin to diminish- without my apprentice to keep yours stable, you will disappear, and cease to exist._

_ You're meant to live here. You've survived because of Will- he's teaching you subconsciously, even as we speak. You will not age because of your bond with this world- your world, Araulen. Tell me, do you remember who you are now?_

_ I think... I think I do... I'm..._

_ Think! Think! It's there, you must remember!_

_ "You're a Ranger, Will. We are both Rangers."_

_ I'm a Ranger. My full name is Will Treaty. My horse's name was Tug. Your name... is Halt._

_ Yes! That's it! That's it!_

Memories flooded his mind again of places he's never seen before- hundreds of people and buildings... but one building in particular struck his mind.

A small house, in familiar territory... it was where his home was, the old tree... where he was trained...

Araulen Castle was the abandoned feif past the river. Maps... geography of the area. Canterlot never existed in those days... Ponyville didn't either. Hell, most of the creatures didn't exist either, only a few of them was mythical enough to be considered one of the creatures of these days, like the Kalkara...

But other memories came- of far away places... the frozen lands of Skandia... Clonmel, Aridda... Macandaw... they all seemed so close... and yet so far...

_That's it Will. You traveled the known world, fought many battles, killed many vile criminals and creatures. You're better suited with a bow and throwing knife then a sword, or a shield. Do you remember that cloak that pony was making? Or the Oak leaf? Do those seem familiar?_

_ Yes... they do... a sign of the King's Rangers..._

_ I implanted the idea into her head to help you remember._

_ But... why didn't you tell me earlier? Like when I first came to Equestria..._

_ "Because I told him not too. Not yet."_

_ That's right, Will. But that didn't mean we didn't influence your actions along the way. Like actually surviving..._

_ "And avoiding poisonous plants..."_

_ And how to create steel, to make glass..._

_ "Everything you know about herbs, and how you 'found out' about the smokeless plant..."_

_ The Observatory. We tried to teach you about stars and how to navigate by them, but I really don't know if you got that point from the Earth book._

_ "Oh, and not to mention archery. That's mostly me."_

_ Okay okay! I get it! You've held my life in your hands since birth! God!_

Will began to clutch his hand into a fist in anger... grabbing some of Luna's fur in the process.

_You shouldn't have done that._

_ "Really, Will? Great, just when she thought you were unconscious. I hope you know I taught you everything you know about acting."_

_ CAN'T YOU ALL JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?_

"Will... stop thaaaaat..." Luna said, still asleep. She was obviously dreaming about him.

_Check where your hand is, Will. While I laugh._

_ Oh god..._

_ "I'm going to just ignore the following scene for my own safety."_

Luna's eyes snapped open, and she turned her head to see Will's eyes open, starring at her lower body.

"Well well well..." She said, smiling.

"Er... I just remembered I had to help... uh... Twilight, with... uh... setting up her tent! I'll have to take a rain-check on the... you know..."

Quickly leaving a huffing Luna behind, Rarity stopped him.

"I have finished the cloak. Here, try it on."

Unbuttoning the green cloak, she slipped it around his neck. A perfect fit.

"Good! Good! Now here, try it with the hood."

Slipping it on, Will smiled. He felt safer and more mysterious when nobody could make eye contact with him.

_"That's why you like to wear hoods so much."_

"Now, try the invisibility spell. All you have to do is try to hide yourself, and the cloak will react. When you're trying to hide, so is the cloak, so it uses magic to do so!"

"I don't understand how that works, but okay," Crouching, the cloak covered his body, making him unnoticeable.

"Well if you want a official explanation, ask Twilight. It seems to be working well enough. Anyway, remember, this cloak doesn't make you immortal. Although enchanted to absorb damage, it _will_ fatigue you if you go around and get... stabbed a lot. Just try to avoid falling on any spikes, or being kicked in the face, because I heavily doubt it could repair a fatal blow like that."

"Thanks. And I'll go see Twilight right away, this is rather confusing."

"Oh, and I need to work on the stitching a bit more. Here, give it back..."

Taking it off, he left the fancy pony to her business, and found Twilight studying maps with Spike.

"You know, even though you are very helpful like this, I really liked it when you were fun. And didn't wear glasses."

"But the glasses are essential for me to keep focus."

"And when did you become so... I don't know, intelligent?"

"When I started to read all of your books, of course."

"Twilight, it's just best to... let him do his thing. And I need to ask you a few things, in private."

"Uh... sure, if you ask."

Leading the purple pony outside, he found another clearing a few yards from the tent, clear of any ponies.

"First of all, how does this cloak work?"

"Well, the science behind the magic is a bit advanced... from what Celestia told me of the enchantments, it has a basic neuron reader compatible with the cloaking enchantment, that senses adrenaline and the basic reflex to be stealthy, so it uses energy gathered from the environment to bend light rays around you, making you invisible. As you know, everything has energy- and it's constantly flowing around you. It's absorbed into the Oak leaf through a conscious entity that only has a few purposes- this entity exists through combining electrons to form a small bit of matter that is inside of the Emerald. It's function, to live, is to absorb energy, and do anything to protect itself, by protecting it's bearer. Bending physical matter with gathered energy, it can heal you as well as itself in the event it's damaged."

Will's eye twitched.

"Er... okay then. Be sure to NEVER tell me how magic works again, okay? Now, my other question... what do you know about Equestrian history?"

"Everything. What do you want to know?"

"Well, before Equestria was Equestria, exactly."

"Er... a bit more specific, please?"

"What was this land before ponies inhabited it?"

"Well... from what I know, there are a few theories. The most basic one is that we slowly evolved from stupid creatures into talking beings... we found evidence of Humans like you, Will, so we probably stole your language."

"Uh huh... one last thing. What do you know about... er... how should I say this without you implying something very stupid? Well, pony and... not so pony, relations."

"Like... diplomacy between Dragons kind and Pony kind?"

"Like that... except a bit more... intimate."

"Oh... OH! You don't mean..."

"Yeah uh... don't ask why..."

"Well, I'm not an expert on the subject- and I'm an expert on _every _subject. But it's frowned upon in Equestria. Some want it outlawed completely, saying how it's wrong and such."

"Well... what about Royalty? What do you know about their history and this kind of thing?"

"Well... nothing like that has ever happened in the royal bedchambers, if you want to know. It could destroy one's political standing, unless if they were someone like Celestia, they could be thrown out of office."

Will breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Twilight. You've been very helpful."

"Yeah, don't mention it. _Ever._"

Walking away, Will almost collided into a bouncing Pinkie Pie.

"Whoa, hey there! I didn't see you! I'm Pinkie Pie" She giggled specifically at Will.

"Er... what are you doing?"

"I'm giggling at the ghostie! Get it?"

"Um... is this because I was a literal ghost at one point?"

"Of course, silly! Hey! We should have a coming back to life party!"

"Um... no thanks. I think I'll just... walk on over her, and... yeah..."

"Oke-dokie-lokey!" She said, bouncing over to the camp fire, before pulling a bag of marshmallows out of a sack nearby.

"Isn't she the same pony who sang me happy birthday?" Will said aloud. Oh well.

The campsite seemed overly crowded- with the guards watching Celestia like a hawk, helping her with every single task, and not to mention every other pony...

Rainbow Dash was back, she was resting from the storm over Canterlot.

Applejack was busy with what appeared to be a oven to bake something in.

Rarity was fretting over the damage's in some of the guard's armor, forcefully removing it from them to repair it.

Twilight was reading more books, eying him carefully to see what he was up too.

Pinkie Pie, was of course, being Pinkie Pie. She now had twelve marshmallows stacked on her head.

Fluttershy was in her tent, resting as well. She was tired from gathering a willing animal army who would help them retake the land.

Spike was in the clearing, now wearing a monocle, outlining a map to let it dry.

Derp was trying to place another marshmallow on Pinkie Pie's head.

And Luna was in her tent.

Counting out the tents, he realized they were one short, even if Spike stayed with Twilight and two guards kept night shifts, which would probably happen.

_Of course._

Approaching Applejack, she asked her about it.

"Yeah, we didn't have enough tents. You're going to have to bunk with somepony, sorry Will. I would offer to share my tent with ya, but I buck in my sleep. But it's only for one night, right?"

"Yeah... right..."

Twilight said no, she and Spike were already bunking, Fluttershy was already in a dead sleep, Rainbow Dash wouldn't wake up to answer, Celestia said she couldn't because the guards might snap, every guard said no (and Derp said "Banana" so Will wasn't sure whether that was a yes or no,) Rarity said she didn't mind Will in the tent, as long as he wasn't allergic to cats (which she had to bring hers, and he's allergic to the house type) so that left...

Luna. Who wanted him. In bed. Now.

"I better get used to it... damn me and my obsession with the night..."

Calling out her name, he entered the tent. She was still awake, grooming herself in a small mirror.

"Hello, Will." She said, giving a bright and cheery smile.

"I have to sleep with you tonight, there aren't enough tents."

"Well I'll be glad to let you stay with me. There's plenty of room, as you can see."

The tent _was_ pretty big. About ten feet wide and six feet long, the ceiling was four foot, so Will had to crouch. It appeared pretty ordinary besides the immense size, and there was more then enough blankets.

"Look, Luna... before you go off wild-"

"Wild? Oh, I do like to be a bit wild..."

"Wild assumptions, I'm not ready yet-"

"Oh come _on._ We both know you are."

"No, I'm not-"

"Yes... yes you _are._"

A bit forcefully, Luna stepped forward, pinning him to the side of the tent.

_"You know, this reminds me of that time I killed a rapist..."_

_ NOT HELPING! NOT HELPING!_

_ Oh shut up, Will. He's doomed, you said so yourself the night of that party in Canterlot. He's going to have to face it- pick your girlfriends better._

_ "Don't you mean horse friend? Or pony friend?"_

_ WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP AND HELP!_

_ The only thing we can do is give you knowledge and push you in the right direction._

Kissing Will on the lips, Luna began to move to his cheek.

"Here, let me help you take off that heavy armor..."

_"If you want our advice, don't let her take off the armor. After all, it IS protection, though not standard Ranger Gear..."_

_ I DON'T CARE ABOUT RANGER GEAR I WANT OUT OF HERE!_

_ Well, the only thing we can do is sit back, relax, and watch you struggle in this situation._

_ I hate you... both of you..._

She was amazingly quick in slipping the armor off- but she only went as far as the hauberk before Will stopped her.

"I'm not ready, and I don't want to do this..."

"Why not? Am I too ugly for you or something?"

"No, it's just I'm not a pony. Nor am I ready to take the relationship _this_ far. Not yet, at least."

"So I'm ugly."

"No, your beautiful. If I wanted to call you ugly, I'd have to find a definition of 'ugly' in the dictionary, and write, "as beautiful as a spring flower" underneath it, scratching out the rest."

"What kind of 'spring flower' huh? An ugly one?"

"Wow, you REALLY want to go there, huh? Look, it's a joint decision whether we do this or not. Ever heard of the term, "rape" before? Yeah, I know you have. Well, it can happen both ways."

"I... why... how... why don't you love me?"

_Tell her she's lying._

"That's a lie if I ever heard one. It's obvious that I love you. I love your beauty, your voice, your body... there's nothing I CAN'T love about you. If you want drama, watch a play or something. But I just... don't... want to do this. I couldn't. Not yet."

Luna began to cry, turning away from Will.

_Oh, she is GOOD. Haven't seen a girl so desperate in a while._

_ Mood killer._

_ Hey, you wanted advice. This is an obvious emotional trap. Careful what you say or do next, this happened to a friend of mine once..._

Grabbing her by the chin, he made eye contact- a silent gesture, somehow comforting in her current mood. Leaning closer, he placed his forehead on hers, and they continued to stare into each others eyes. The lantern went out- and the tent was sent into darkness once more. But the moon was so large and bright, that it felt like the small glows were magnified, until the light penetrated the tent, filling it with the lunar rays.

"Luna... I..."

"I know..."

And they kissed, before falling onto the pillows and into their dreams.

This is the end of the chapter for now. Part three will be out, and for those who don't understand the whole 'Ranger' part, then you should know this...

My full name is William R. Treaty. An amazing coincidence if you read the "Ranger's Apprentice" series. I didn't think about tying the two worlds together until I saw a map of both worlds, and some of the art and such. It turns out they are quite similar, in some parts, that is.

Anyway, they are amazing books, and they influenced my hobbies. I like sword play and archery both equally, thanks to them.

Oh, and if you want to know why it took so long to write this chapter, it was because my dad died when I was near finished. I couldn't touch it until I recently... sorry about the wait.

Part three will be out whenever I feel like it. Don't ask when, because I don't know if I should start or not. Not for a few days, at least. So... maybe next week. It depends if I can get out of this depression or not.

Oh, and I'm not going to consider this a cross over... it only helps you get a little bit of past history on the OC if you want it. Reading those stories (or at least the Wiki) will help you understand the past history of this fic's Equestria. Anyway, if you want me to set this as a crossover (and I really don't) go ahead and complain in the reviews, so I can ignore you like about 10% of the Authors on this site. Seriously, next part, you will only see a few bits of dialogue from Will and Halt.


End file.
